The Second Story
by Laura V. Bleediotie
Summary: Volume the 2nd in the K. Baudelaire Chronicles. Sunny is kidnapped, and it's up to Klaus and Co. to find her. Will Sunny ever be rescued? Is V.F.D. gone forever? And why is this mysterious woman so determined to get revenge on Klaus? Read and find out!
1. Default Chapter

**I'm baaaa-aaaaack! Laura V. Bleediote here with my second fic! This is a sequel to "After All: By K. Baudelaire" if you couldn't tell. It takes place not too long after the first story does. A warning: There will be spoilers to _The Grim Grotto_, Book the 11th of ASoUE, just in case you haven't read it yet. Rated PG for some violence and for people getting angry and yelling at each other. For lack of better title ideas, I'm calling this one "The Second Story" to stay with Snicket's theme of using two words beginning with the same first letters...I think they're called alliterations...Not sure though. **

**Oh yes! And a very special "THANK YOU" to Arden C. Evans, who came up with plot for this story. I was stumped for ideas, when Arden came along and saved the day! To express my gratitude, I shall play for you, Arden, the very first "Scream and Run Away" of this fanfic! –Pulls out accordion and plays song- **

**Disclaimer: Like I said last time, this is FANfiction, a word which here means, "Of course I don't own it!"**

**So, without forcing you to wait any longer, here it is!**

The Second Story

By K. Baudelaire

Chapter 1: G o n e

"The Daily Punctilio 

"_**All the news in fits of print."**_

Baudelaire Butchers Gone Forever 

**(Really)**

By D. Quagmire 

"The infamous Baudelaire Murderers were confirmed dead yesterday evening. Authorities believe that the three were in the Ned H. Rirger Theater when it was destroyed by an act of arson.

"Veronica, Klyde, and Susie Baudelaire were first accused of murder, arson, and a wide variety of different crimes approximately a decade ago. The siblings were merely children when they committed their earliest felony, the murder of former _Punctilio_ journalist Jacques Snicket. Veronica was aged at roughly 14 years of age; Klyde, 13; and Susie at about 2-3 years. Susie was supposedly the actual murderer, her siblings being accomplices. How this makes sense, I have no idea.

"Whether or not the Baudelaires were responsible for the burning of the theater, investigators are not positive. Private detective Klaus B. has been reported signing on to the task of uncovering the truth behind the matter. Perhaps we can finally put the Baudelaire case to rest, without losing any sleep ourselves."

"Huh? Well? What do you think?" Duncan smirked. "Did that sound utterly genuine or not?"

Violet sighed. "We appreciate everything Duncan, but I'm just not sure that this will have the general public convinced."

"Hey, it makes sense," Duncan said. "The theater burns down; Klaus is hired to investigate it. Some people really think you guys did it. Why not just end this whole fiasco right here?"

"It's a good idea Duncan," Sunny piped up. "But won't people still recognize us?"

"I dunno, get a makeover or something. Girls like that, right? And everybody already thinks Klaus is just a detective."

Violet hesitantly agreed, wanting to be as positive as Duncan. She wasn't sure if she and her sister were completely safe just yet.

"Of course," Klaus added, "there's still the fact that somebody really did burn down the theater. And I've got to figure out who did it."

"Are you sure it was arson?" Violet asked.

"Violet, you'd think that by now I'd know arson when I see it," he replied smugly.

Duncan frowned and leaned back in his chair. The Valentino Family Diner was, once again, emptier than the beach in the middle of winter, giving the friends the place to themselves. The three Baudelaires, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, (who were not, in fact, murderers, despite what you may have heard,) and two of the Quagmire Triplets, Duncan the journalist and his sister Isadora, who worked as a waitress there, were crowded around two small tables to discuss the matter.

"Well, if we're going to get anywhere, we might as well start the investigation," Violet said.

"Oh! Oh! Can I come?" Sunny asked eagerly, bouncing up and down in her chair. "I'll be good, I promise! I won't talk to strangers, I promise! I'll stay close by, I promise! I promise, I promise! Pleeeaaassse?"

"Okay, who let Sunny drink the coffee?" Duncan asked.

"Sunny," Klaus said, "This could be dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."

"How could I possibly get hurt? I've been around long enough to know that the first part of an investigation is just separating facts from rumors," Sunny said.

"Well, Sunny, sometimes it isn't just that. Sometimes things can come up, things you don't expect. Sometimes it can be risky," Klaus replied.

"But you never let me go!" Sunny protested. "I really want to know what it's like, what it's like to be a detective. Violet says it's a little bit like how it was to be a Volunteer. I want to see how it was." Her voice became quieter as she finished. Sunny looked up at him with her dark, sad eyes. "Please."

Klaus sighed. He wished he could let her, but he knew he couldn't risk losing his sister again. "I'm sorry, Sunny. Not this time."

Sunny frowned and hung her head, staring silently into her glass of chocolate milk. "Fine..." she murmured.

Klaus looked down also. "Violet we better go."

"Go where?" Isadora asked, emerging from the kitchen. "Are you starting the investigation?"

"Yes, exactly where are we going?" Violet inquired.

Klaus shrugged. "Anywhere, I guess. The ruins of the fire most likely."

Now everyone turned their gazes to the floor. That's where most mysteries began, at the wreckage caused by a fire. That's where it often ended, also. They knew that all too well.

Isadora smiled gently. "Well, good luck," she said. "We'll be back at my house when you're done."

"Okay," Klaus said.

"I hope you figure something out," Duncan added.

"Goodbye," Sunny whispered, not looking up.

Once again, Klaus was reminded of the scared, suspicious little girl Sunny was when he found her not too long before. Was he really doing the right thing, protecting her from things she should know? Or was he hurting Sunny instead? He pushed the disturbing thought to the back of his mind, telling himself that he should be concentrating on the case, not his little sister's complaints.

And I'm sorry to say that Klaus should have been more worried.

. . .

"You've been awfully quiet lately," Violet remarked as she and her brother walked down the empty street.

Klaus shook his head. "I don't know... It just feels like we shouldn't be keeping so much from Sunny."

"She knows a lot more than she did before," Violet said, "about V.F.D. and Olaf and the Schism."

"Yeah, I know that, but what about everything else that's been going on lately?"

Violet had to thing for a brief moment before realizing what he meant. "You mean...how the Volunteers are considering the Reunion?"

Klaus nodded solemnly, deep in thought. "Do you really think V.F.D. could work again? After all that's happened?"

"I think that it's definitely worth a try," Violet replied.

"But Violet, it's not just that," Klaus said. "It isn't something we can just try. This is a now or never situation. If this doesn't work, V.F.D. will be dead forever."

"I know it's hard right now, for you especially, Klaus-"

"Violet," Klaus interrupted, "I don't think you get how risky this is. Innocent people have lost their lives for V.F.D. The Schism was dangerous enough, how fatal do you think the Reunion could be?"

Violet put a comforting hand on her brother shoulder. "If V.F.D. does try and get working again, I'm sure it won't be for a long time. You shouldn't be so worried."

Klaus sighed, looking down at his boots as he walked. "Do you think there are still V.F.D. enemies out there?" he asked quietly, hesitantly. "Do you think there are still ex-Volunteers out there, waiting for an opportunity like this to get their revenge?"

Violet shrugged indecisively. "Try not to think about it, okay?"

Klaus nodded silently, although it was the only thing he could think of until they arrived at the ruins of the devastated theater.

It was evening, and the Ned H. Rirger Theater was in a rather deserted district of the city. Since so many fires had been mysteriously burning down many of the fancier, more prestigious buildings in the area, such as the elegant mansions or luxurious apartment buildings, nobody was very eager to spend their time in that part of town. The theater had been somewhat rundown, and no one had given it much notice until its destruction. Old bricks and crumbling cement blocks were scattered here and there, lining the foundation of what had once been a prominent establishment. And with the smell of smoke still hanging in the air and the only surviving items burnt beyond recognition, the two Baudelaires couldn't help but think about their childhood home.

"Remember that one time," Violet reminisced, "when Mother was in that play here?"

Klaus nodded, lifting up a singed board with his foot and glancing underneath.

"It's a shame really," Violet said. "It's too bad about what happened to this place."

Klaus sighed. It was going to be hard to concentrate on a case such as this.

Violet halted abruptly and tilted her head to the side, listening intently for something.

"What is it?" Klaus asked.

Violet opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a syllable, the floor beneath her cracked and, with a yelp, she fell through.

"Violet!" Klaus cried. He ran over to the gap in the floorboards and peered down into the darkness. "Violet, are you okay?"

Silence.

"Violet, answer me!" Klaus called.

"Oh, wow! Klaus, you've got to see this!"

He frowned, perplexed at what she could be talking about, yet relieved that his sister seemed all right. Klaus carefully lowered himself into the shadows.

He gasped when he saw what was around him. One thing was Violet, who was standing up and brushing dirt off her dress. Everything else was, well, it was hard to tell, but it looked like the two were inside a mineshaft. There were several other tunnels branching off from the one they were standing in, and each one was so tall and wide that you could easily see around you. Parts of the ceilings in many of them had fallen in, so there was plenty of light pouring down from the surface.

"More tunnels," Violet breathed.

Klaus didn't speak, still too astonished at what was in front of him. Cautiously, he took a step forward, straining to see down the shafts. Violet followed silently.

"I don't remember V.F.D. digging tunnels here," she commented. "And why are there so many tunnels branching off from this one? And why would it be leading here? I thought there weren't any Safe Places left."

"I thought so too," Klaus said. He turned to observe a lantern hanging from the dirt wall. It was lit. "Something tells me that these tunnels aren't that old."

Violet squinted in the dim lighting, partly frowning in bafflement. "Are you saying that someone else created them?"

"Yeah, and I'm saying it wasn't too long ago." Klaus stopped walking and warily peered around a corner. "Like maybe after the Schism."

"But all the V.F.D. tunnels were made before that!"

"I know, Violet. I'm just as confused as you are. I'm sure it will be a while before we have any answers."

Violet sighed and stared down the nearest shaft. Suddenly, she started and straightened her back in watchfulness. Klaus turned to see that her eyes were wide.

"What?" he asked.

Violet put her hand up to silence him. "Shh..." she hissed.

"Did you see someone?" Klaus whispered.

"I thought I did," she replied quietly. "But I know I heard something."

The two heard a faint rustling, a noise that sounded very much like a footstep. They whirled around, senses alert. Klaus pulled out his gun.

There was a _click!_ followed by a flash of light. He turned and saw the lantern behind him flicker and go out.

_Ch-chk!_

"Hey, I heard that one!" Klaus said.

"Gun!" Violet screamed. She grabbed her brother's sleeve and pulled him to the ground just as the lantern's glass casing shattered in a torrent of bullets behind him.

"You go down that tunnel, I'll take this one!" Violet ordered, instinctively taking charge. The two ran down the separate shafts, both knowing that if they split up, it might buy them time to escape while the gunman figured out who to aim for.

Klaus sprinted, leaping over fallen rafters and mounds of collapsed ceiling. He knew an underground tunnel was the most dangerous place to be at a time like this. Here, you were cornered with no place to run, and there were plenty of opportunities to be crushed in a cave-in. Klaus cocked his own pistol and quickly glanced over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of someone rushing past one of the shafts, a dark, hooded figure shrouded in a long coat.

Klaus heard Violet cry out. The gunfire stopped.

He froze. "Violet!"

Klaus dashed down the dimly lit tunnel, retracing the path he had just used. All precautions he would have taken before slipped his mind. He didn't consider the fact that it could have been a trap; something the gunman could have done to lure Klaus out into the open. The only thing was that was running through Klaus's subconscious was the possibility of losing his sister for good.

He found Violet kneeling on the dirt ground, clutching her left shoulder. "Violet, what happened? Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Violet cringed and squeezed her eyes shut. "It's just my shoulder," she said through clenched teeth. Klaus saw blood dripping through her fingers. "I'm fine, it's probably not that serious."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked. "Do you think it went through any bones or did it just graze your shoulder?"

"Klaus, seriously, I've been through this before. I know how to take care myself," she said.

"Really? I mean, you have?" Klaus asked.

Violet didn't answer. "Do you think that guy has left yet?"

Klaus looked around warily. "I don't see anyone. I think he has."

Violet was silent for a moment. "He was here for me, I know it," she said. Her eyes widened. "He was here for me," she repeated quietly.

Klaus looked back down at his sister. She stared back at him, and he could tell something was haunting her. "If he was here for me," she whispered, "and he didn't get me..."

Her brother leaned forward to hear what she was about to say.

"...He'll be going for Sunny next."

Klaus paled. She was probably right.

"Klaus, you have to go!" Violet said, wincing against the pain as she gave him a slight push. "You have to make sure she's okay!"

He stood up. "But Violet, what about you?"

"Don't worry about me," she said. "You have to hurry before it's too late!"

Klaus turned and ran; not wanting to think about what he might be too late for.

. . .

He ran until his legs felt as though they might give out, ran until his lungs couldn't take it, but finally he reached Isadora's house. _Sunny should be here_, Klaus thought. _She has to be here._ He swung open the front door to find the place deserted. _No, don't tell me she's been alone all this time!_

Panting, he raced up the stairs. A light was on in one of the rooms, and he prayed that that meant someone was still in it.

Klaus burst into the bedroom. A Simon and Garfunkel song was playing softly on the record player. The desk lamp was turned on, shining on a copy of _Oliver Twist_. A chair was lying on the ground, as if whoever was sitting there had gotten up in a hurry. And several papers were scattered on the hardwood floor.

He slowly walked across the room, stopping in front of the window. Rain had begun to pour, and through the sheet of water that was dripping down the glass, Klaus could see below him a long, black car driving away into the evening.

Sunny was gone.


	2. Chapter 2: M i x e d C o m p a n y

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Lady Emily: -Pulls Frequent Updater Award off shelf and blows dust off of it- I won't let you down! :)**

**QQuagmire: Why thank you! I've got plans for this one... Expect some twists!**

**Ed the Giant Raccoon: I'd just like to say that I love you penname. (Teehee.) Oh yes, and thanks!**

**Let's see what Sunny's up to...**

Chapter 2: M i x e d C o m p a n y

"_Aw, poor dear."_

"_It's okay girlie, we're not going to hurt you."_

"_There, there pet."_

Sunny warily opened her eyes. She found herself inside a large car. The windows were tinted and an odd smell wafted through the air. The leather on the seats was tearing and stuffing had begun to come out. But it wasn't the spooky interior of the automobile that made her eyes widen. It was the strange assortment of people that surrounded her.

Sitting on one side of her was a woman. She was extremely thin, her short hair was pitch black and her complexion was so amazingly pale that she had the appearance of a ghost. A sand-colored poncho hung over her shoulders. At Sunny's right side was another woman, only this one was much younger, had fiery red hair that poofed out every which way, her eyes were big, and she wore a smile that was so wide it made Sunny's jaws hurt to look at her. The young woman squirmed in her seat the way Sunny did after a cup of coffee. In the passenger's seat up front, looking back at her, was a very tall man with dark messy hair. He grinned also, but when he did, Sunny saw that all of his teeth were made of silver. And driving the car was another man, but he was very quiet and he wore a wide-brimmed hat that was pulled down so most of his face was obscured. From what Sunny could see, though, he looked relatively young, about Klaus's age.

"It's alright dearie, there's nothing to worry about," said the pale woman in a motherly tone.

"Yeah, we came to save you," piped the redheaded woman.

"Save me?" Sunny asked.

"Yes, it's a good thing we got there in time," the pale woman said.

"What do you-"

"Oh! I'm so terribly sorry!" interrupted the tall man with the silver teeth. "We completely forgot to introduce ourselves!"

"Oh yes, how silly of us!" giggled the redheaded woman. "My name is Gwenyth!"

"I am Brigitte," said the pale woman. "Remember, that's pronounced _Bri-zheet_, not Bridget."

"And my name's Weasel," said the silver-toothed man. "Actually, that's not my real name, but Weasel's what everyone calls me."

Sunny nodded, still trying to make sense out of her situation.

Weasel jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the driver. "That there's Fedora. He doesn't talk much, won't even tell us his name. So we call him Fedora."

Fedora offered a silent wave back at Sunny, not taking his eyes off the road.

"We call him that because a Fedora is the kind of hat he wears," Weasel added.

"I know what a Fedora is," Sunny said.

Weasel nodded. "Ah, of course you do. You're a Baudelaire."

Sunny narrowed her eyes. "Why did you kidnap me?" she asked.

Gwenyth frowned. "We didn't kidnap you. We're rescuing you," she said.

"From what?" Sunny demanded.

The three "kidnappers" looked at one another, something like pity in their eyes. "Dearie," Brigitte began softly, "You're sister's hurt."

Sunny's eyes widened. "What? How do you know?"

"We just found out. She was shot," Weasel said.

"Who...Why would anyone..." Sunny whimpered.

Gwenyth put a hand on Sunny's head, stroking the ribbon that was tied in her hair. "We're so sorry Sunny," she whispered.

Tears began to pool in Sunny's dark eyes. "Is she-?"

Weasel shook his head hastily. "No, no, she's fine. A bullet to her shoulder, that's all."

She let out a sigh of relief. "But still... Why did you take me?" Sunny asked again.

"We wanted to be sure you were safe," Gwenyth said.

Brigitte thought for a moment before speaking. "Sunny, has your brother been acting suspicious for some reason?"

Sunny frowned, wondering what Brigitte could mean. "No," she said, but then had a second thought. "Well... He won't let me see any of his detective work, and he's been spending a lot of time in his room lately, sending telegrams..."

Weasel nodded, giving the others a knowing glance. He pulled a Polaroid photograph from his pocket and showed it to Sunny. It was a picture of Violet and Klaus in what looked like a library. Violet had her gun drawn.

"Hey," Sunny said, reading the date scrawled on the back, "this was taken when we were in France."

"You know about V.F.D., right Sunny?" Brigitte asked.

"Enough, I guess," Sunny replied.

"Well..." Gwenyth leaned closer, as if she were about to tell Sunny something she didn't want anyone else to hear. "I know this might be a bit odd to you, but my associates and I have reason to believe that your brother is a spy for the wrong side of the Schism."

Sunny blinked. "But the Schism happened a long time ago. V.F.D. hasn't been active for years," she said.

"The Volunteers have been talking," Brigitte said. "They've been thinking of getting V.F.D. back together."

"Yes," Weasel agreed. "We've been watching Klaus for a while. We had our suspicions, but now we're almost positive he's trying to collect information for the enemy."

"But Klaus isn't... He wouldn't..." Sunny stammered. "He's been a Volunteer since he was a kid."

"Sunny, just think about it," Gwenyth said. "He hasn't told you anything about his investigations, he's been sending a lot of telegrams. I'm sorry, but you know what they say, everybody has some secrets."

Sunny speculated the idea for a while. Yes, Klaus had been behaving strangely, but for what reason, she had no clue. He had become a tad irritable it seemed to her, being so absorbed in his studies that he no longer had time for their weekly game of Scrabble. Sunny had passed it off with no concern, but now she was beginning to see that there could be another side of the story, a side that told her that there could be a part of Klaus she didn't know, a side that reminded her of how there was that 10-year period in which she barely knew who he was. But Klaus was her brother...

"How do I know I can trust you?" Sunny asked.

Weasel reached into his pocket and pulled out another photograph. Klaus was in the picture, and he had a gun in his hand.

"How do you know you can trust him?"

. . .

The long black automobile finally pulled into the driveway of a large house with a tall, crumbling tower stuck to the side of it. It looked rather old, paint peeling and windows cracked. Fedora silently walked up the front steps, and with a gentlemanly, yet very slight tip of his hat, he opened the aged door and ushered her in.

Brigitte, Weasel, and Gwenyth followed, hanging up their coats and pointing to various things in the parlor they thought might interest Sunny. One thing she noticed was how the whole house seemed to be themed with eyes.

"Just wait until you meet our boss," Gwenyth said. "She's a real visionary."

"She used to be a clothing stylist," Brigitte added.

"But you probably shouldn't mention her eye-patch," Weasel advised. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

"She has an eye-patch?" Sunny asked, again wondering who these people were and if she should be afraid.

As Sunny asked her question, Fedora quietly slipped away to an old wooden door in the next room. He opened it and started the long climb up the stairs to the tower room. When he finally reached the top, he found a young woman standing at the far window. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she gazed out over the gray city.

"We found Sunny Baudelaire," Fedora said.

The corners of the woman's red-painted lips curled up in a sinister smile. "Aye. He'll come."


	3. Chapter 3: T h e B o s s

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Phoenix72389: Aye! You'll just have to wait and find out. Ah yes, and just to let you know, you are my 13th reviewer! –Pulls out accordion and plays "Scream and Run Away"-**

**Nny11: They lie! They lie! Poor Sunny, a little too trusting for her own good...**

**QQuagmire: I happen to like cliffhangers. –Sticks out tongue- Lol, just kidding. It keeps 'em coming back for more!**

**MlynnBloom: Updating now! Hopefully some questions will be answered, aye...**

**Samela: Thank you Samela! I'm glad you like it.**

**Arden C. Evans: Believe it or not, I haven't seen any of the James Bond movies. –Gasp!- I know what most of them are though, so I'm not completely clueless. I just like my movies shaken not stirred. Lol. That made no sense... I was thinking up exotic names for some characters, and _Bri-zheet_ came to mind. **

**But anyway, that reminds me; Arden has a pretty cool story she writing. It's got a touch of Snicket-Style, and it's really funny. If you go to her profile page, there should be a link to it. I say, keep up the good work Arden!**

**Here it is, Chapter the 3rd!**

Chapter 3: T h e B o s s

Just when Sunny thought she had seen all that she could comprehend, more confusion was hurled at her.

It started when she met "The Boss."

She entered rather non-ceremoniously; there was no trumpet blast, no red carpet unfurled, nothing Sunny would have expected for the person Brigitte, Gwenyth, and Weasel described their leader to be. She actually entered so silently it was eerie, the way she crept down the stairs without a sound, the way she looked down at them all with her icy-cold gaze.

The Boss was actually a young woman who couldn't have been much older than Violet. She had wavy red-brown hair that fell down to her thin shoulders, and her lips were painted with red lipstick. She slinked down the stairs, sleek, black boots hardly making a noise as they touched down on the steps.

The others straightened as if they were soldiers in the army about to be inspected. She paused in front of Sunny, peering down at her like you would peer at a dish of chocolates at the candy store. And when Sunny looked back at her, she could see that the woman did indeed have an eye-patch that obscured her right eye. Her visible eye was a dull, blue, overcast sky color, and it stared down at Sunny in ghostly curiosity.

The woman's red lips curved in a smile. "So," she said, "This is the little Sunny Baudelaire I've heard so much about." She let out something of a laugh and lifted Sunny's chin up to get a better look at her. "My, you've grown since the last time we met."

Sunny frowned. "When did we meet?"

"Ah, that's right." The woman nodded understandingly. "Aye, you were probably too young to remember."

"Why am I here?" Sunny asked.

The woman looked at the others. "Didn't they explain it to you?" she asked Sunny.

"Well yeah..." Sunny replied. "But I was just wondering if I would be seeing my siblings again any time soon."

"Aye, you will be soon enough. But not until you're safe."

Sunny thought for a moment. "Do you really think my brother is a spy?" she asked. "Did you even know Klaus?"

The woman grinned slightly and something in her pale, blue eye flickered. "I while back ago, aye," she answered. "We just wanted to be sure. Just wanted to make sure you weren't in harm's way. You could be a very valuable Volunteer someday, you know."

Sunny blinked. "A Volunteer?" A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "Really?"

"Aye."

Sunny considered the idea for a minute. A real Volunteer, just like the ones Violet described. The woman seemed nice enough, if a bit creepy, but that just made her all the more mysterious. Maybe she would stay for a little while, just to see if she was right.

"Okay," Sunny said.

The woman grinned and extended her hand. "Welcome aboard," she said.

Sunny shook her hand. "Glad to be aboard, Boss," she smirked, trying out the name.

"Aye," the woman said. "Call me Fiona."

. . .

"And so, this is where you'll be staying," Fiona said, showing Sunny into a long, narrow room.

Sunny was surprised to see that there was more than one bed in the room, several of which had the blankets sloppily falling down to the floor, although a couple were neatly made. A few articles of clothing were strewn about on the ground, along with some scattered papers and books.

She frowned. "Why-?"

Fiona grinned. "Are you ready to meet your fellow neophytes?" she asked.

Sunny's face lit up. "You mean there are other kids?"

"Aye. Come with me," Fiona said, and turned to walk out the door.

Sunny followed her down the stairs and into the dining room. Green wallpaper adorned with thousands of eyes decorated the walls, and a grand chandelier hung from the ceiling. An exquisite feast was laid out on the long table, steaming with the warm scent of dinner.

Fiona took out a shiny silver whistle, the kind gym teachers blow at their students when they run laps, and placed it between her red lips. The whistle emitted a high-pitched shriek as she blew it, and suddenly the floor began to rumble as if an earthquake had struck. Doors leading to every room around them swung open, and children of all sizes and appearances flooded into the dining room. They obediently formed a line and straightened up, just like Brigitte, Gwenyth and Weasel did the first time Sunny saw Fiona.

Sunny counted. 12 kids to be exact. She would be 13.

Fiona grinned and spread out her arms, as if she were showing off a collection of figurines instead of a troupe of organized youngsters. One by one she pointed at them and told Sunny their names.

Fiona gestured to the first boy in line. "Samuel."

She turned to the girl that stood next to him. "Virginia."

"Emily."

"Marcus."

"Danny."

"Lisa."

"Andrew."

"Matthew."

"Rory."

"Elizabeth."

"Mary Sue."

Fiona paused when she came to the last boy. He was very thin with dark, scraggly hair, and looked several years younger than Sunny. He looked up at them with dull, blue eyes that were almost the same shade as Fiona's.

"And of course, we can't forget Jacky," she said. "He doesn't talk much. Don't expect to get an answer out of him if you ask him something."

Sunny smiled at him. Jacky waved slightly.

"Kids," Fiona said, "This is Sunny."

"Hi, Sunny," the kids replied in unison.

"Um... Hi," Sunny said back.

"Well," said Fiona. "Shall we eat?"

The kids suddenly came to life and ran to sit in their chairs, pushing each other and reaching across the table to grab some food to put on their plates before it was gone. Sunny sat next to Jacky, hoping to get him to speak to her. She noticed how he waited till all the other kids were done getting their food before he served himself. Of course, there wasn't a lot to serve after the others were through.

"So Sunny, you went to France?" Rory asked after everyone settled down in their seats.

Sunny nodded. "Yep," she said, stuffing a forkful of roast beef into her mouth at the same time.

"Did you go up in the Eiffel Tower?" asked Marcus.

"No," she said shyly, shaking her head. "I'm actually afraid of heights."

"Really?" Andrew said.

"I don't blame her," said Mary Sue. "I think it would be frightening to be up that high."

"Why are you afraid of heights?" Andrew asked.

Sunny shrugged. "I guess something happened when I was little. I don't really remember what though."

"Oh! That reminds me. There was this one time..." Andrew turned to the boy on his left and started blabbing on about some near-death experience he had that involved a hair-dryer and a pair of roller-skates. Sunny wasn't too interested in hearing his story, so she turned to Jacky.

"Hi," she began.

"Hm," Jacky answered.

"So... Nice weather we've been having." Sunny blinked in surprise at what just left her mouth, mentally kicking herself. She could say anything and she chose the most clichéd phrase of them all.

Jacky gave her an odd look. "It's been raining all day."

Sunny shrugged. "I like rain."

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess I do too," he agreed.

"You like it here?" Sunny asked.

This time he shrugged. "Sure. It's kinda lonely."

Sunny arched an eyebrow. "Even with all these kids?"

Jacky frowned. "I guess I just miss my parents." He looked down and traced designs in the gravy with his fork. "What about your siblings?"

She raised both eyebrows now. "How do you know I have siblings?" she asked.

Jacky opened his mouth to speak, but at first, nothing came out. "Uh...um..." he stammered. "I just... You know... Word gets around quickly..."

Sunny smiled. "My siblings were Volunteers," she said.

"My mom and dad were, along with most of my relatives," said Jacky. "On both my parent's sides," he added.

"So were my parents." She sadly glanced down at her plate. "They're dead now."

"My uncle was a Volunteer. He died before I was born." He paused. "Jacky is actually a nickname. I was named after my uncle, so my given name is Ja-"

"Attention!" Fiona interrupted. "I have an announcement to make."

All the children stopped eating, forks and spoons halfway to their mouths. Weasel froze while in the middle of pouring himself a glass of brandy, and now the drink was overflowing and making a mess. Gwenyth was silenced in mid-giggle, and now a petrified smile was spread across her face. Jacky's mouth still hung open. Sunny looked up and waited for their leader's declaration.

"How would you all like to begin tomorrow's lesson a bit early?" Fiona asked.

Several kids cheered. Others began chatting amongst each other excitedly. "What do we do?" Sunny asked.

Fiona met Sunny's gaze. An eerie smile spread across her lips, and her pale, blue eye shone as if she was telling a joke.

"We hide," she said, and suddenly Sunny's life became even more confusing.


	4. Chapter 4: H i d e

**Dear Reviewers:**

**LolliPopsAreTears: No, don't stop! I like comments! Lol. Anyway, thank you for the compliments. When I got to that part of the story, I thought, "Hey, how about Fiona has her own theater troupe?" It was fun to think up all sorts of weird characters. I wanted to have more, but there wasn't enough room in the story, most of them would be useless. Oh well. And remember, a lot can happen in a few years. There are still many secrets that have yet to be revealed... **

**Samela: Thank you! Unexpect-fulness is my middle name! Well, actually it isn't... But that's what I tell everyone.**

**NewbiaTheElf: Thanks-a-bunch! I still have some details to work out, so yeah, there are a few things I haven't been paying much attention to. I'll work on it!**

**QQuagmire: Aye, you're a clever one...**

**Phoenix72389: Good, that was the impression I was going for! I always thought Fiona would make a good villain...**

**Ok, I have a short little explanation for something concerning the timeline. Apparently, they way I wrote it, it sounds like, so far, this whole thing has happened in only one day. I know it's kinda weird how Violet could get shot, go to the doctor's, and make it to the house with Klaus in only a few hours, but I really wanted Violet in this chapter. I know it's a lame excuse, so try to ignore the inaccuracies. Or you could tell yourself that this chapter took place the next day. Or whatever. Sorry... **

Chapter 4: H i d e

"Well, so here we are," Klaus said.

Violet shuddered as she gazed up the length of the tower. "Ugh. And I was hoping I'd never see this place again."

Klaus warily examined the black automobile parked in the long driveway. "Yep, it's the same one," he said, sticking his hands in his pockets, peering into a bullet-hole that punctured the trunk. "And it looks like it hasn't been parked here too long."

Klaus turned and looked at his sister. His gaze fell to the sling her arm rested in. "Maybe you should stay out here," he said. "Just in case."

Violet shook her head. "No way. The only reason why I got those doctors to let me go so early was so I could look for Sunny. I'm going in," she said firmly.

Her brother nodded reluctantly. "Just let me check and see if it's safe."

"Alright, fine."

Klaus cautiously looked through the window. Apparently he didn't see anyone, because soon he was creeping up the steps and turning the doorknob to the front door.

"Be careful," Violet said.

He didn't answer as he disappeared inside the house. For a few silent moments, Violet closely watched the entrance, listening intently for any sign of danger. After several minutes, she saw her brother's arm stick out the doorway and motion for her to come inside. Violet breathed a sigh of relief and walked up the steps.

The two looked around the parlor room, cringing at how unchanged it was and at how explicitly they could remember their horrible time there. Klaus led the way, peeking around the corner each time they came to a new doorway. They visited each room, noting what was different, commenting on the unaffected, and deeply pondering the same puzzlement until Violet uttered it out loud.

"It's empty."

Klaus couldn't help but agree, no matter how much it pained him.

There was no way he could have known that his little sister was standing directly beneath the floorboards under his feet.

Sunny gazed up at the low ceiling. Around her was a series of tunnels, half of them not even finished. There were a few dim lanterns hanging from the walls, but that light hardly did anything to illuminate the dark emptiness. The other children whispered and muttered to each other, either in fear or in excitement. Jacky shivered beside Sunny. Poor Mary Sue was beginning to experience a case of claustrophobia. Fiona stood stock-still, the weak light giving her the appearance of a graveyard statue.

Suddenly, Sunny heard voices above them. Everyone immediately silenced and stared up at the dirt ceiling. The speech was muffled, but Sunny could make out small parts of the conversation.

"Where could...nobody here..." they heard someone say.

"I don't...to understand...impossible..."

There was more silence, except for the stifled footsteps of the mysterious intruders.

"Klaus...over here..."

"Klau-!" Sunny shouted, only to have Fedora clamp his hand over her mouth. Several children hissed at her to be quiet, but were then shushed themselves.

"Violet...letter from Quigley...?"

Sunny felt Fedora stiffen and look up at the ceiling.

"No...from him in a while..."

Another silence.

"Maybe...tower room?"

There were more footsteps. Fiona followed the sound, staring up at where the strangers were walking.

"...locked..."

Fiona grinned, satisfied.

"I just don't...where could...

"I can't..."

"...leave now?"

There was slight pause. The other person apparently replied affirmatively, because everyone in the tunnel could hear footsteps leading to the front door.

As the door slammed shut, the entire group let out a sigh of relief, as if they had all been holding their breaths the whole time. The kids immediately began chattering, debating amongst themselves whether it was spies who had just been in the house or the police.

Fiona cleared her throat. Everyone quieted down and listened. "From now on, that is what we will call a 'Scenario 13.' These tunnels will serve as an escape route in the case of an emergency, particularly if that emergency is a fire or an intrusion, just like the one we had now. So, since we know it is safe, we may go back up to the house."

She took a moment to squint down the tunnel, trying to figure out which way they were supposed to take. Fedora gently tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to their right. Fiona nodded sheepishly and began leading the way.

Sunny frowned. It wasn't _that_ dark, was it?

Jacky must have sensed her confusion. "Fiona was in a terrible accident when she was younger. She lost the sight in one eye," he explained. "They say she's slowly going blind in her other one."

Sunny glanced at Fiona. She still held herself with an air of dignity, despite having to keep her hand on Fedora's arm.

"I bet she can barely see in this light," Jacky said.

Sunny once again looked up at the dirt ceiling. Why did they have to hide from Klaus and Violet? Sunny wondered. They wouldn't have come in if they had known everyone was home. Maybe Fiona was right about Klaus. After all, he had been in their house; it could have been to collect information. But Violet had been with him. Was she a spy also? Or did Klaus still have her convinced he was on her side?

She narrowed her eyes in thought. Sunny thought back to that morning, when Klaus told her she couldn't go on his investigation. She grinned to herself. She would become a Volunteer; the best there ever was in V.F.D. Then she would tell him what she could or could not handle.


	5. Chapter 5: R i b b o n

**Dear Reviewers:**

**MlynnBloom: Thank you! Always happy to be getting reviews!**

**Lady Emily: Yes, I know! Sunny, what are you doing?! You can't trust Fiona! Sunny: "Well if I didn't, there would be a huge plot hole!" Oh yeah. Sorry. Anyway, thanks!**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Let's see...the troupe...well, most of them are dead, as you know from the books, but I don't know what happened to the freaks. Yes, Fernald is still alive, as you found out in the last fic, but he is no longer a henchman, as you also already know. But anywho, I'm glad you like my fic so far!**

**Nny11: Yes, we all want to know everything, and the answers will be revealed soon enough. Just keep reading! ...Please?**

**NewbiaTheElf: Yeah, I know what you mean. It's just that there are so many good parts I want to write, so I'm not surprised that a few things feel rushed. I'll try to take it slower and concentrate on the important details.**

**QQuagmire: Ah, Fedora. What a mysterious character... He won't be silent forever, I'll tell you that...**

**Phoenix72389: Poor Fiona. So misunderstood... Oh well.**

**Sorry this chapter took a little longer. But anyway, here it is!**

Chapter 5: R i b b o n

_Where could she be?_

Klaus sat rigidly in front of his typewriter. A blank white page stared expectantly back at him. Usually being here at his typewriter brought inspiration, gradually causing the gears and wheels in his mind to turn and think. A bit like Violet and her ribbon, Klaus thought. Papers need words on them; books were full of words. Whenever he found a plain sheet of paper in his typewriter, it was never bare for very long.

Yet words escaped him now.

There were so many things crowding together in Klaus's mind, but nothing that was possible to put on paper. It was like every concept and notion was only half-developed and being grafted to some completely different thought. He felt like his subconscious was an abstract artist's painting, where something could make sense if you look at it one way, but could be perceived as total nonsense if you change your perspective.

Klaus did his best to decipher several questions he needed to have the answers to. Finally he got his fingers to move and press the keys.

_Where could she be?_

It had been weeks since Sunny's disappearance. Klaus had been all over the city. He interviewed everyone he thought might have some explanations. He had hardly gotten any sleep over the past several days. And he had been left with nothing.

Klaus stared at the single sentence he had typed out and repeated the question over and over to himself. He needed some serious help with this one. There was rarely ever a problem he couldn't find the solution to, but now he was finally stumped. Who could he enlist to find the answer for him? There were professionals for this sort of thing, right?

Klaus blinked and shook his head. He was one of those professionals.

He thought about the many cases he had solved over the years. Some had been more challenging than others, but there was always the end resolve, the moment of truth, the conclusion of the mystery when the culprit is unmasked and brought to justice. And now, here it was, the only case he couldn't solve, and it was the one that really mattered.

_Where could she be?_

Klaus sighed and lightly tapped his fingers on the typewriter keys. After staring at a speck of dirt under his fingernail for several moments, he gave up and leaned back in his chair. Examining his small apartment room, he let other memories seize his attention.

There was a picture hanging on the wall that Klaus paid special attention to. It was a photograph of he and his sisters, one that had been taken after that first fire. They looked so weary, eyes empty and sad, faces void of expression. Klaus tried to remember one of their older family portraits. Their parents were standing behind them, looking very proud and sophisticated, and the siblings were grinning widely at the camera. That portrait had been destroyed when their parents were killed, along with everything else that made their lives enjoyable.

And now Sunny was gone too.

Klaus swallowed hard. _No. Sunny can't be gone._

_But she is. You're never going to find her._

_I will find her. I will soon and it will be like none of this ever happened._

_But what if you don't find her?_

_I will. I'm sure I will._

_You know you're only telling yourself what you want to hear._

_Then quit telling me things I don't want to hear._

_I'm only telling you what's true._

Klaus's eye twitched.

_Great. Now watch as I slowly go insane._

_You've always had that twitch._

_Not always._

_Ah yes, that's right. You've only had it since that day your sisters died._

_They didn't die._

_Just think about it. Sunny's gone. For forever, most likely. You saw Violet that day in France. What do you think will happen now that Sunny's really gone?_

_Violet..._

_They'll be dead to you. Soon enough, they'll be dead to you._

_No..._

_That twitch... it's under your left eye._

_What? So?_

_Don't tell me you don't remember. Think way back, to right after the fire._

_I'm thinking and I'm getting nothing that has to do with my left eye._

_Not even while you were living with your first guardian?_

Klaus blinked. _Olaf hit me..._

_You had a nasty bruise there for a while._

_I did..._ He forgot about the argument his doubts and his hopes were having. Instead, Klaus let himself drift back to that evening. He could remember it so vividly, the green wallpaper in the dining room, the long table, the smell that drifted through the air...

Klaus then thought back to that other day, not too long before, when he and Violet had visited the house. He remembered how deserted it was, how lifeless, how blameless it seemed, as if everything that had happened there was perfectly excusable. An image of the dining room came back to his mind, a picture of how it looked only a few weeks before. The same green wallpaper was now peeling, the same dusty chandelier was hanging from the ceiling, the same long table was empty, light reflecting off it's polished surface.

The same long table that hadn't gathered dust...

Klaus let the front legs of his chair fall back to the floor.

The table. It hadn't been completely empty, he remembered now. Something had been on it. Something he hadn't paid attention to. Something he hoped was the key that could unlock the answer to this mystery.

A ribbon.

Klaus's heart jumped. That's what it was. A ribbon. He had seen Sunny's ribbon. Why hadn't he noticed the ribbon?

He grinned excitedly. He had been on the right track the whole time. He wouldn't fail his sister. He was going to find her.

Klaus looked back up at the picture of he and his sisters and focused on Sunny's little face.

_You're going to find her?_

_I'm going to find her._

Klaus stood up and grabbed his hat, placing it on his head and pulling on a jacket as he dashed out the door.


	6. Chapter 6: T r a i t o r

**Dear Reviewers:**

**NewbiaTheElf: Glad you liked it! And, believe it or not, when I first thought up Klaus's twitch, I really did go back and reread that scene in The Bad Beginning, to see which side of his face it was. I was originally going to have Violet make a remark about it or something, but I decided it fitted (Fit? Fitted?) in that last chapter, to remind him of what he saw in the dining room. **

**Lady Emily: Yes, it was a pretty short, but it was very late and my dad was telling me to go to bed, so I didn't have much time to write anymore. And about why Fiona wants revenge…well, I haven't really covered that yet. I know why, but I don't have it written out, so you'll just have to wait!**

**QQuagmire: I can only submit them as fast as I can type them! I'll try and make this chapter longer.**

**Runaway6: Thank you! Always enjoy getting reviews from my readers!**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Thanks! For some reason while I was writing that scene, I couldn't help but think about Gollum in Lord of the Rings and how he would have conversations with himself… LoL, "My precious…"**

**Phoenix72389: Right, never underestimate the power of typewriter paper! **

**So, here it is!**

Chapter 6: T r a i t o r

"…And so after I reached the top of the elevator shaft-"

"Children!" Brigitte called through the door. "You know it's lights out at nine!"

"But Sunny's not done telling the story!" Rory protested.

"Well then, she'll have to continue it in the morning."

"Alright…"

Sunny flipped the light switch as the children climbed into their beds. Not too long after the sound of Brigitte's footsteps faded to nothing, the children were fast asleep.

Tap! 

Sunny rolled over groggily.

Tap! 

She squinted and looked up from her pillow. Something was hitting the window, something small and annoying. Slowly, Sunny got out of bed and peered through the glass. Someone was standing on the lawn below her. He had probably been throwing rocks at the window to get her attention.

Sunny frowned and walked out to the balcony, shutting the doors behind her so she wouldn't wake the other neophytes. She looked down and saw someone staring back up at her, waving his arms and calling her name. Sunny gasped.

She knew who it was.

"Klaus!" she shouted.

"Sunny? Sunny is that you?"

"Yes, Klaus, it's me!"

Klaus spotted an ivy-laced lattice bolted to the rock wall. It could work as a ladder. Quickly, he scaled it, being careful not to keep his weight on one ancient piece of wood for too long, fearing that it would break under his foot. Finally, he made it to the top and swung his legs over the balcony railing.

Sunny threw her arms around her brother's neck and hugged him tightly.

"You don't know how worried we've been!" Klaus said. "I looked everywhere for you. I'm so glad you're not hurt. You aren't hurt are you?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, I'm perfectly fine."

Sunny looked up at Klaus. He was staring at the stone tower, examining the window at the very top. Did he really see something move?

He frowned down at his sister. "Why are you here?"

"What about Violet? Is she okay?" she asked quickly.

Klaus nodded. "Yes. She should be able to use her arm in a couple weeks." He glanced back up at the tower window. "Why are you here?" he repeated.

Sunny followed her brother's gaze. That was the window in the tower room. No one was ever allowed up there. She knew that the punishment would be severe. You listened to what Fiona said. Jacky had told Sunny he knew that from experience.

And suddenly everything Fiona had told her came rushing back.

Sunny stared up at Klaus. He seemed different now.

She took one cautious step backwards.

Maybe it was the way the moonlight glinted off his glasses. Or maybe it was how the wind made everything seem so much colder. But Klaus had changed. Her brother was a stranger to her.

Klaus saw it in Sunny's eyes. Something was wrong. Something about him.

"What is it?" Klaus asked.

Was Klaus really who Fiona said he was? Sunny wondered. A sly grin slowly began to pull at the corners of her mouth, the kind of smirk she had picked up from Fiona. She would test him.

She folded her arms across her chest, partly for warmth and partly for the illusion of confidence. "I'm here to be trained," she began casually. "To be a Volunteer."

Klaus frowned. "You were kidnapped to be trained?" he asked.

"Of course," Sunny said. "_When we drive away in secret/ You'll be a volunteer/ So don't scream when we take you_… I believe you know the rest."

"…_the world is quiet here_," Klaus quietly finished. "Okay. But V.F.D. hasn't been active for years. Who would train you?"

"I happen to have a great instructor," Sunny said. "I think you know her."

Klaus gave her a slightly surprised look, one that mostly said, "Please continue…"

"She's, oh, about this tall-" Sunny raised a hand level to his chin- "with brownish hair, bluish eyes, dwindling eyesight…"

He continued to stare. "Sunny, I have no idea who you're talking about."

"Oh, you don't remember her? Would you remember if I told you her name was Fiona?"

Sunny figured that he did, after seeing how wide his eyes had grown in the few seconds it took to register in his mind.

For a moment Klaus just stood there gawking, attempting to re-arrange his sister's words. Maybe he had heard wrong, and mixing everything around would cause her last sentence to make sense. Then it clicked.

"But…how…she…"

Or at least it was trying to click.

"You mean…'_Aye!_' Fiona?" he finally asked.

"Yes, Fiona who says 'Aye!'" Sunny said. "What other Fiona do you know?"

"Well that's just it! I don't!" Klaus said. "Fiona is dead. She was poisoned. She's not… How could she be alive?"

"Well I don't know about that, but I do know about you," Sunny replied smugly.

"What do you 'know about me'?" Klaus asked. He did a mental double-take. "And what did you mean by 'dwindling eyesight'?"

"Fiona told me all about you. About what you did," Sunny replied. "She said it's your fault she's going blind."

"Blind? She- How is that my fault?"

"She said there was a fire," Sunny said, hiding inside her the desperate hope that his bewilderment was sincere. "It was a fire you started. And because of it she can hardly see."

Sunny turned and stared at Klaus. She worriedly searched his face for some kind of proof that Fiona was wrong, that Klaus was still the same, protective older brother Sunny looked up to.

But there was something there, haunting his eyes. Remembering. Pain. Hesitation.

Guilt…

Sunny felt the color drain from her cheeks. Her mood instantly changed from suspicion to horror.

Oh no.

It was true.

Thunder rumbled overhead. It gradually started to rain again. Sunny began to shiver.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

Klaus swallowed and looked down. Rain soaked into his clothes and chilled his bones. It dripped into his eyes. "I…Well, Sunny…You see…" he began, stammering.

"It was an accident, Sunny," Klaus finally got out. His voice was quiet, and slightly pleading and remorseful. "I didn't mean to start that fire. I had no idea…" His voice trailed off when he looked up at his sister. Rain dripped down her cheeks.

Along with her tears.

"It was all your fault then," Sunny concluded.

Klaus stared at nothing for a long time, seeming to be thinking deeply about something.

Someone.

"Yes," he whispered weakly.

Sunny gave him a very cold, very hurt look. "Then leave," she quietly ordered.

Klaus looked up, shocked. His sister held his gaze for a moment, and lightning flashed behind her. Then she silently turned and opened the doors that led to the children's room. She rigidly walked in and shut them behind her, leaving her brother cold and alone.

Only one other person knew how long Klaus stayed out there on the balcony. Only one person saw him finally climb back down the wall. She stared down through her window, and was the only one who saw Klaus walk back through the front gate, his head tilted down mournfully. She watched him make his way down the dark, wet street, and he looked as if nothing mattered to him anymore.

She watched him.

And smiled.


	7. Chapter 7: A G o o d Q u e s t i o n

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Phoenix72389: Oh dear, I hope your doctor doesn't make me pay for the medical bill…;)**

**Arden C. Evans: Yes, eye-patches are the new hook-hands! Although hook-hands are still very cool. Very Piratey, very Fernald…y. Hey, I just realized… the Widdershins family seems to have a thing with pirate culture. I mean, the "Aye"s and the hook-hands and the eye-patches… Hmm. Anyway, thanks!**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Poor Sunny… What are you doing?!? "Don't ask me, you're the writer!" Oh yeah… Laura, what are you doing?!? –Waits- Well I can see I'm not answering me, so I guess you'll just have to wait and find out what happens… I'm sorry, I'm just feeling so totally random tonight…I always write at night, so I'm usually very tired and loopy. So… thank you!**

**Nny11: Don't you worry your buzzy little head, I'll explain soon enough. :)**

**NewbiaTheElf: Yes…There's an old saying, "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned." Or something like that. Anyway, Klaus better watch it when he tells Violet about Sunny… LoL. And, yes, I guess since I'm more used to telling the story from Klaus's point of view, I'm more experienced with him. But aside from that, I know the rain thing is a little cliché, but I thought, "Well, his sister has just told him off, he's just figured out that it's his fault Fiona's going blind, and, as an added kick in the pants, he's probably gonna catch a cold now." Ok, I didn't really think that. But I happen to like rain. Hmph. ;) I'll avoid it.**

**Runaway6: Yep, love to twist my fics around a bit, just to see how people react. I'm glad you liked it! And yeah, there is always the added unhappiness… But anyway, thanks!**

**QQuagmire: No, it's okay, I'm glad that you're excited. And yes it was Fiona watching him at the end. She has changed over the years, as it will be revealed in later chapters, but the reasons for her wanting revenge, that will also be explained in a while. Yeah, a couple people have commented on how quickly Sunny believed Fiona, and I know I shouldn't have rushed it, but I wanted to get to the "distrustful" Sunny quickly. That sounds like a really sad and interesting book, the one you were talking about; maybe I'll read it sometime. What was it called? Oh yes, and I will tell you, there is more behind Jacky. He'll play a bigger role later. Anyway, I'm really glad you're liking my story. Don't stop reviewing!**

**And I'd like to give a BIG thanks to all my loyal readers! I would be nowhere without you guys! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit short, there's a lot of dialogue. **

**So here it is, Chapter the Seventh!**

Chapter 7: A G o o d Q u e s t i o n

"And so you just _left_ her?" Violet demanded.

Klaus shrugged sheepishly. "It's just that- Well… there wasn't really anything I could do…"

Violet placed her good hand on her hip in dissatisfaction. "Klaus! This is our little sister we're talking about! You should have brought her back, no matter what she said!"

"Well I-"

"Klaus," Violet said, more patiently. "If I've learned one thing over the years, it is that you have to be firm with Sunny. She's a stubborn girl. You just have to show her that you're her older brother and that she has to listen to you."

"But Violet, this isn't like that!" Klaus said. "It's not like this is just some sibling argument that will be completely forgotten by the next day! You weren't there, Violet. You just don't understand."

"Don't understand? How could I not understand? Klaus, I think I know my little sister-"

"Better than I do? Well, you know what, you're probably right! And it's because of all those years when she barely even knew I existed!" Klaus shouted.

Violet frowned, biting her lip. After several moments of awkward silence, she looked down and sighed. "Klaus… I'm sorry. I've just been so freaked out of my mind, and now that I finally know where Sunny is… It's just hard to accept that I can't do anything to help her."

Her brother nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He paused, recalling the previous night's incident. "I'm just wondering…"

"Hmm?"

"What could Fiona want with her?"

The two thought for a while, watching customers and waiters mill around the Diner. They stood, leaning against the wall, the kitchen doors next to them swinging open every once in a while. Occasionally Isadora would emerge from the kitchen, balancing heavy trays, and offer them a sympathetic smile.

Klaus smiled back. She was wearing the necklace he gave her.

"Maybe she's using Sunny to get to us," Violet suggested.

Klaus shrugged. "But what could she want?"

They pondered this for a brief moment.

Violet gasped. "I know! Money! She could want money in return for Sunny's release!"

"Well where are we going to get it?" Klaus asked.

"Klaus! We have the Baudelaire fortune!" Violet said, grabbing Klaus's shoulder and shaking him lightly. "We have more than enough money. Sunny will be back in no time!"

Violet's excited grin quickly disappeared when she saw Klaus's unsure expression.

She frowned and looked him in the eyes. "Klaus. We _do_ have the Baudelaire fortune, don't we?"

Klaus swallowed and looked down. "I…I spent it all…looking for you…" he said quietly.

Violet let go of Klaus's arm. After absently staring at a speck of dust on her brother's coat for a while, she sighed and put her arm around his shoulders. She still couldn't begin to imagine how much Klaus had given up just so he could see his sisters again.

How much would they give up now?

"Well…" Violet began. "Did it even seem like Fiona wanted something from us?"

"I didn't even get to see her," Klaus said. "But it looks like Sunny's staying by choice. She said they were training her to be a Volunteer."

"Hmm…" Violet mumbled, frowning.

"And obviously, Fiona told her something about me. Something bad."

"Really."

"Yeah… She said it was my fault Fiona's going blind." Klaus paused and swallowed. "I think she might be right."

Violet looked up at her brother. "Continue."

"Well, you remember," he said. "That fire at the grotto."

"You mean the one after Olaf had taken over it?"

"Mm-hmm," Klaus murmured.

"But that was after Fiona was poisoned," Violet said. "Or…after we thought she was."

"Right. I don't understand it either. I mean, how could she have…" Klaus shook his head and looked away. "Maybe that fire wasn't such a good idea…"

"It was necessary, Klaus. Don't blame yourself."

"But I _did_ start it," he said. "I _am_ the one to blame!"

"Klaus… You did it for the right reason. We all had a part in it."

After a bit of thinking, Klaus looked up and frowned. "You know, I haven't heard anything about training new recruits for V.F.D. at all."

"Well, it's obviously just a front," Violet said.

"No… No, Sunny talked about being trained, that Fiona was her instructor. The way she said it, it sounded like there were more kids being trained with her."

"So… you're saying that Fiona could really be teaching these kids to be Volunteers?"

"Right. No, wait…" Klaus shook his head again, more slightly this time, deep in thought. "If she was, then why would she tell Sunny I was the enemy?" He looked at Violet, waiting for an answer, although Violet could tell he already had one.

She shifted her arm in her sling. "No idea."

"She's telling them that they're going to be Volunteers," he said. "But by instilling in their minds that they're on the good side of the Schism, she's really recruiting followers for _her_ side."

Violet's jaw dropped. "So by telling Sunny that you're against V.F.D., she got her to join the side that's _really_ against V.F.D.!"

"Exactly! She knows about the Reunion, so she's wasting no time recruiting supporters," Klaus said. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, attempting to comprehend everything that was suddenly coming together in his mind. "Now… All we have to figure out is how to get her back."

Violet massaged her forehead. "Oh boy… This is going to give me such a headache…"

"Well, maybe we could get some Volunteer help. Have you tried contacting the Snickets?"

"I have, but nobody knows where Lemony is nowadays. I tried calling Kit, but she didn't say much. She sounded really worried about something, mentioned that they were in the middle of some sort of family crisis."

"Hmm," Klaus murmured. "What about Fernald?"

"I couldn't reach him at all."

"Think he knows about Fiona?"

Violet shrugged. "I don't know."

Klaus paused, wondering how he would react if he found out. Fernald was such an ambiguous man, a bit like a blurry photograph where you can't make out the features of the person in it. Klaus rarely saw him, hardly ever heard from him, and knew so little of him. How would he respond if someone told him that his sister was a traitor?

Maybe the same way Klaus had when Sunny told him to leave her.

"What about Quigley?" he asked.

Violet scowled and shook her head. "Nope. He hasn't been answering any of my letters or telegrams. I haven't heard anything about him or what he's doing. It's like he's forgotten all about me!"

"Well, the life of a cartographer could be pretty busy, with all the traveling and such."

"He wrote me after my first letter, the one I sent after we got back from France," Violet said. "He said was glad to hear from me and looking forward to my next letter. So I wrote him again. But he didn't say anything after that! I just don't understand why he wouldn't respond."

"Hey, even Isadora and Duncan don't hear from him that often. Don't worry about it."

"But he said…"

Klaus smiled and put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Don't worry about it," he repeated as his sister sighed.

"I guess I shouldn't," Violet admitted quietly. "So, what should we do now?"

"Well, it looks like we've got to save Sunny ourselves."

"How?" asked a new voice. Klaus turned and saw that Isadora now stood beside them. She wore a look that was concerned and worried, yet hopeful. Isadora always seemed to have hope when he didn't, Klaus thought.

"That's a good question, Isadora." He glanced over at the jukebox where his little sister had spent a lot of her time, just listening to music.

_How?_


	8. Chapter 8: E a v e s d r o p p i n g

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Phoenix72389: Yes, what could that psycho be thinking? –Receives am evil glare from Fiona- Heh heh…heh. Anyway, thank you!**

**Lady Emily: Ah, Quigley… I'll get to him later…**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Thanks… I'm hoping to get more of Isadora in there, but I'm still thinking up where she would fit. It seems like she's been more of a minor character in this story. And Duncan too. And yes, poor Klaus and Violet. Sunny, come home! –Bursts into tears-**

**SaturnStorm: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! I shall write more, don't you worry.**

**MlynnBloom: Thanks so much. That's what I was hoping you readers would get out of this. I don't like it when the author takes too much time explaining things they're just going to repeat later. So… Yeah. Thanks!**

**QuigleyRules: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Updating now…**

**Ed the giant Racoon: Yay! You're back! I shall play you a song! –Takes out accordion but is promptly strangled by Fiona- Ack! Okay, I won't play it! Anywho, –urk- thanks! –choke-**

**Well, I guess I'm supposed to be dead now so I have no idea how I'm typing this… But here it is anyway, Chapter the Eighth! It's another kind of short one, but an okay one, in my opinion.**

Chapter 8: E a v e s d r o p p i n g

"The first thing you need to know about eavesdropping is, 'Never get caught.' That's what my sister always says."

"And the second thing is, 'Know what the person you're eavesdropping on will do to you if you _do_ get caught.' That's what _I _always say."

"Oh Jacky, do you have to be so negative all the time?" Sunny said, frowning.

"Well, you would be too if you mess with Fiona enough!" Jacky replied.

"Shh! She'll hear you!" Sunny hissed, pressing her ear against the door of Fiona's study.

"Listen, I don't know about you, but I think we should just get out of here, now," Jacky whispered furiously.

"I don't get it, Jacky, what's so bad about Fiona?" Sunny asked.

Her friend was silent for quite some time. Jacky stared hard at the ground, as if he wanted to drill a hole through it with his gaze, and he wore a solemn scowl on his lips.

"Jacky?" Sunny prompted gently.

"Nothing. Never mind," he said, standing up. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. We'll probably get in trouble for staying up late anyway."

"Okay. Well, I'm staying here. Fiona's been talking to Fedora about something and I want to see if I can figure out what it could be," Sunny said.

Jacky flashed Sunny one more look of disapproval, then turned and climbed up the stairs.

She shook her head and leaned into the door once again, pulling her ribbon out of her hair. She let it fall from her fingers and flutter to the floor, remembering another thing her sister had told her about eavesdropping. Always have an excuse in case you get caught. This way, if the door suddenly opened on her, she could pretend she was only looking for her ribbon and get away clean.

Sunny closed her eyes and pushed the side of her face flat against the wood. The door was rather thick, but after a moment or two, muffled noises sharpened into spoken words.

"I don't think he'll be gone for very long. If he's the same as he was 10 years ago, he's not giving up on Sunny. Especially if Violet gets involved."

A female voice; smooth yet menacing. Fiona, obviously.

"…Which she will, I'm sure."

This was a new voice. It was masculine, but sort of soft in a way. And slightly familiar…

Fedora, maybe?

"I'll admit it though, this was a bit easier than I thought it would be."

"What? The kidnapping?"

"Yeah. And getting Klaus to leave so quickly. He's different now, I'll tell you that."

"Uh-huh."

"More brandy?"

"No, thanks."

Sunny heard Fiona sigh contentedly. "I think this will all work out. After all, I _do_ have the power," she said, her voice fairly teasing.

"Wasabi indeed."

Fiona laughed. "Wasabi indeed," she agreed.

_Wasabi?_ Sunny wondered. Violet and Klaus used that joke all the time. Wasabi was the code word for "power," or "powerful." How could Fedora and Fiona know that too?

"I mean, now that we've got all the little brats convinced they're going to be _Volunteers_…" She said the word as if it was the punchline of a joke.

"…V.F.D. can throw anything they want at us," Fedora finished.

"Exactly."

There was a faint _clink!_ing noise as the two villains tapped their wine glasses together in a toast.

_Oh no_, Sunny thought, dread rising. _What are they saying?_

"So why exactly did you want Sunny?" Fedora asked.

"To attract the Volunteers' attention, mostly. I want them to know I'm still here."

"And you had to have Violet shot for the same reason?"

Sunny gasped.

"You're catching on."

"And it's also because of a certain Baudelaire, isn't it?"

There was a momentary silence.

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Fiona said. Her voice was casual, yet there was an icy edge to it.

"Sorry."

"I think I'm going to go to turn in soon. All of this has left me exhausted. It's been a busy month hasn't it?"

"It has."

Sunny heard Fedora stand up and walk towards the door.

"Pleasant dreams," Fedora said, somewhat jokingly. Sunny could only wonder what sort of nightmarish things Fiona could pleasantly dream about.

"Goodnight," Fiona replied.

The doorknob rattled and turned. Sunny panicked.

The door swung open and Sunny found herself staring up at Fedora, who was staring, astonished, down at Sunny.

"Um…I, uh…" Sunny stammered. She quickly stood up, snatching her ribbon off the ground. "I was just looking for my ribbon," she said, holding it up and waving it for Fedora to see. "When I got upstairs, I found that I didn't have it, so I came back down here…"

Sunny blinked in uncertainty. Below the wide brim of his hat, she thought she saw a fleeting grin flicker across his lips.

"Sure," he murmured, as he shut the door and walked past her.

She watched him walk away. There was something about his casual saunter and carefree demeanor that struck a note in Sunny's memory. Where had she seen him before?

Slowly, she let herself sink to the floor. Sunny leaned her head against the wall and let herself recall the conversation she had just heard.

"_I mean, now that we've got all the little brats convinced they're going to be Volunteers…"_

"_And you had to have Violet shot for the same reason."_

"_Wasabi indeed."_

Sunny sat and stared at the wall on the other side of the hallway. It was almost too much for her to handle.

Just one thing stuck out in her mind.

Fiona.

Her eyes narrowed.

Fiona.

Sunny frowned deeply and swallowed. The same eyes that were still squinting in anger now filled up with tears. She hugged her knees and buried her face in her nightgown.

_Oh Klaus._

_You were right._

Violet had been shot. Klaus was gone. Her friends were her enemies.

Because of Fiona.

Sunny looked up, sniffling, and her moist eyes widened in shock and horror.

_No_, she thought. _Because of me._

Sunny let out a sob and hot tears poured down her cheeks. It was true. Everything she had believed was a lie.

Klaus wasn't the traitor.

She was.


	9. Chapter 9: The A r t of the L o c k p i ...

**Dear Reviewers:**

**NewbiaTheElf: You know, that was EXACTLY what I was hoping it wouldn't sound like. The whole time I was writing that scene I was thinking, "Gosh, I hope I'm not making this too easy for Sunny." I wanted to have Sunny eavesdropping on Fiona at one point, but I didn't want Fiona to practically tell her the whole plan while she was doing it, but it came out that way I guess. –Sigh- It was probably because I was tired and I made it so short, I didn't have the time to write it well enough. Oh well. I'm glad you liked it though. And I'm thinking of writing a short story about Sunny before "After All." It might be just a one-shot, but I'm becoming even more interested in what it was like for her running from the law with Violet…Hmm. It's a possibility. Oh yeah, and by the way, it was Fedora, not Fernald. :)**

**MlynnBloom: Wasabi! And how could Sunny be in denial? She knows now, weren't you paying attention? ;)**

**Ed the giant Racoon: Thank you! Sometimes fanfiction . net can be weird like that, I know. But thanks for reviewing anyway!**

**SaturnStorm: Go Baudelaires! And, –Quickly looks around- Let's just say Quigs won't be gone forever… -wink wink- Oh, how happy Violet will be!**

**Phoenix72389: Yes, poor, poor Sunny… And Fedora is a rather interesting character, isn't he? Hmm…**

**PinkyChik27: Actually, the farthest part in the grotto wasn't underwater. They took off their helmets, remember? Anyway, I'm glad you like my story! :)**

**You know, I've just realized something. I haven't been making Fiona say "Aye!" Darn me, it keeps slipping my mind. Darn my mind. I'll try and remember now. If I ever go back and revise this, I'll be sure to put in some more "Aye"s…**

**Hopefully this chapter will be longer…**

Chapter 9: The A r t of the L o c k p i c k

_How could I have been so stupid?_

The next day, Sunny spent most of her time doing nothing, a captive in her misery. It was a weekend, so there was no "Volunteer" training and plenty of time to lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling. Every once in a while, Jacky would come in and ask her how she was doing.

Jacky became more of a friend to Sunny than she had expected him to be. He didn't say, "I told you so," when she told him about what she had heard. He was more relieved that Sunny hadn't been caught and that they could finally share their plans to escape their imprisonment. Sunny had never really had any friends her age. Well, Jacky's age wasn't necessarily the closest to hers, being about four years younger, but now they had a common enemy, and this time it was the _real_ enemy.

"I didn't exactly have any friends before this," Sunny commented, as the two lounged on the balcony.

"Me neither," Jacky said. "The kids at my school always made fun of me, mainly because I'm so short."

"I never really had a chance to make friends. It was always just me and Violet, moving from one place to another. Life was pretty fast-paced."

"I know what you mean."

Sunny quirked an eyebrow at Jacky. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Sunny waited for a further explanation, but after several moments, she decided there wasn't going to be one.

"I just can't stop thinking about how easily I believed Fiona. I mean, I _did_ have sort of an argument with my brother, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't trust him over these things." She recalled the conversation she had had with him that one morning, how he wouldn't let her go with him on his investigation. "He…he was just trying to protect me," Sunny added quietly. She couldn't stop wondering how angry Klaus was at her right now.

Sunny turned back to the view. After studying the far-off buildings, the roads below her, and the sky that overlooked them all, she decided that there were only two words that best described this city.

Cold and gray.

Sunny frowned. "How come the weather around here is always so…sad?"

Jacky shrugged and looked up at the sky. "I dunno. I guess I'm so used to it, I never noticed."

"Hmm," Sunny mumbled to herself. He was right. It had taken her a while to notice it too. She looked up also, but her gaze was directed to something else. "You know," she said, "for some reason, that tower gives me the creeps."

Jacky nodded. "Me too." He squinted, eyeing the window at the very top. "I wonder why she spends so much time up there."

"What do you think she could be doing?" Sunny asked.

He shrugged again. "Obviously something she doesn't want us to know about."

Sunny continued to stare up at the tower window. Maybe Jacky was getting somewhere. She thought about it for a minute or two, a simple concept slowly forming and shaping into a plan in her mind.

"I think," she said to Jacky, "you've just given me an idea."

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Jacky asked.

Sunny turned the knob of the door that led to the tower room's staircase. "The door's locked," she muttered.

Jacky let out a sigh of relief.

Grinning at Jacky, Sunny pulled a tangled mass of paperclips from her pocket. "Lockpick."

He groaned. "Let me guess. Your sister taught you."

She nodded. "Lock picking is an art," Sunny said, twisting the paperclips to fit the lock. "I don't see why you're so worried. Fiona's out of the house. She won't catch us."

Jacky shrugged.

"Listen, if you don't want to go up there, you can stay down here and keep watch," she said, fiddling with the lock.

"But what if someone comes?"

"Brigitte, Gwenyth and Weasel are with Fiona." She smiled faintly to herself, remembering how she had almost been caught the night before. "And I don't think Fedora should cause you much trouble."

The doorknob made a _click_ing noise as it unlocked. Sunny turned it and opened the door. Then she looked back at her friend.

Jacky was staring at the ground, like he usually was when he was uncomfortable about something. Sunny considered asking him how he knew about Fiona, but she figured she wouldn't get an answer out of him if she tried.

"Jacky," she said. He looked up at her. Sunny again noticed the ice-blue color of his eyes. "Don't worry about me."

He nodded, and watched her take her first steps up the tower staircase.

Sunny didn't know that if she had been more worried, she could have avoided a lot of trouble.

Finally, she reached the top and found herself facing another door. The doorknob to this one also resembled an eye, just like everything else in the house. Sunny slowly turned it and braced herself for whatever lay beyond.

The room was good-sized, not huge, but not small either. The place was cluttered with old papers, assorted books, and just plain junk. Dusty floorboards creaked under her feet and the wind moaned and seemed to cause the whole tower to sway slightly. There was practically no light, except for several candles that illuminated the numerous eye paintings that hung on one wall. In one corner, an old, broken clown puppet hung by its strings from the ceiling.

The tower room was even creepier on the inside.

Sunny crept closer to the desk that sat at one end of the room. She guessed it was used mainly as a place to put things when Fiona ran out of room for them; the desk was too cluttered to write on.

She examined some of the different objects that were on the desk. There was a book entitled _Mushroom Minutiae_, which looked ancient and was falling apart at the binding. There was also an old pair of glasses that Sunny carefully picked up. The lenses were cracked and falling out of the unusual triangular frames. She gingerly set them back down, hoping that Fiona wouldn't notice that she had been snooping around.

Sunny opened a desk drawer and peered inside. There was only an old picture frame lying face down at the bottom. She pulled it out and wiped some dust off the fractured glass cover.

In the faded photograph was what seemed to be a younger version of Fiona. She was smiling contentedly, eyes twinkling behind a pair of glasses, the ones that now lay broken on her desk. Her head was leaning on the shoulder of a young man who looked a bit older than Fiona, their arms linked. Sunny noticed he had hooks for hands.

"Ferdy," she whispered.

How would Fiona know Fernald?

Standing next to Fernald was a young woman wearing a long coat and a pair of gloves. Sunny recognized her as Kit Snicket.

Did she know Fiona too?

There was still more she didn't know, Sunny reminded herself.

She held the picture up and blew more dust off of it so she could see it better. Fiona looked so happy. Her eyes were different, not so cruel. They looked more like Jacky's, soft and concerned. More like Fernald's.

Sunny studied the picture closer.

Now that she saw it…Jacky's eyes looked more like Kit's.

She pulled the photograph out of its frame. _Maybe I just needed a reminder_, she thought,_ that there could really be some good in everyone_. She put the picture in her pocket, carefully, yet somewhat hesitantly. If Fiona really used to be the girl in this picture, what kind of memories was Sunny robbing of her?

Sunny moved on to the next drawer. This one was stuffed with papers and more assorted junk, but after sifting through it all for a minute or two, she finally found something worth looking over.

It was a small glass vial, one that was scarcely wider or longer than Sunny's thumb. The top was sealed tightly with a cork, and a thin string was laced through a tiny hole in it and tied at the ends like a necklace. There was something green and moldy growing inside the vial. Sunny wasn't going to even try and guess what it was.

Sunny glanced up at the tower window and approached it cautiously. Outside, there was a strong-looking steel bar protruding from the top of the window frame, as if it was meant for hanging things from. She then looked down at the ground far below her and suddenly remembered her intense fear of heights. Stumbling away from the window, Sunny caught a glimpse of a long, black automobile pulling into the driveway.

"Sunny!" she heard Jacky call from downstairs. "They're back!"

She crammed the glass vial into her pocket as she quickly darted out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Sunny also didn't know the importance of the items she had just stolen.


	10. Chapter 10: When a W r o n g is R i g h ...

**Dear Reviewers:**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Wow, thank you! You're a great writer too, I mean, even in that last review, "Fiona is like her shadow, wherever she runs the dark figure follows slyly beside her…" That's good, you should use that! :)**

**MlynnBloom: Hmm…Jacky and Kit…how are they connected…hmm…;)**

**Lady Emily: Thank you and, um, thank you!**

**Phoenix72389: Gasp! Hurry, Sunny! Before it's too late! –Screams and runs away-**

**PinkyChik27: Yes, we all have those moments. ;) But anyway, I'm glad you like it so far!**

**NewbiaTheElf: Yeah, I guess I made it kinda confusing when I had both Fedora and Fernald wear wide-brimmed hats that covered their faces. In the 2nd chapter I think, I described Fedora as "probably not much older than Klaus," and Fernald is a lot older than Klaus, but I guess I didn't emphasize it enough that they are two different people. But anyway, thanks for the tip. So you know about the vial, huh? You're the first, I guess, since I haven't heard about it from anybody else. And I'll think about a Sunny fic. I've got some ideas, but don't expect to read it any time soon.**

**QQuagmire: Yup, yup, yup. Thanks! :)**

**QuigleyRules: Thank you! And don't you worry…**

Chapter 10: When a W r o n g is R i g h t

Dinner had ended. Conversation had ceased. The children had dispersed. The room was empty, save two children who still sat next to each other at the table. Fiona had gone up to the tower room.

And the weight of the stolen objects in Sunny's pocket had gotten heavier.

"You were real quiet during dinner," Jacky remarked.

Sunny didn't respond. She sat and stared into her almost empty bowl of pasta with puttanesca sauce, her expression remaining unchanged.

Jacky thought for a moment, pondering what could have happened to Sunny in the tower room. "What did you find?" he asked.

Sunny finally turned and looked at him. There was something in her eyes, something different from before. It was almost like a mixture of regret and fear, a blend of mercy and hate. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the photograph she had found.

"She wasn't always like this, Jacky," Sunny said quietly. She held it out for him to see.

Jacky took the old picture with faintly trembling hands, staring at the people in it with wide, icy eyes. He gently ran his thumb over Kit and Fernald's faces, and Sunny thought she saw tears begin to pool in his eyes when he looked at Fiona.

"She's different there," Sunny remarked. "But I guess something changed."

Her friend looked up at her and didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he opened his mouth and hugged the photograph to his chest. "Can I have this?" he asked, his voice not much louder than a whisper.

Sunny blinked in surprise, wondering why Jacky wanted to keep a picture of Fiona and two other people he probably didn't even know. But it seemed so important to him.

She nodded. "Sure."

Jacky smiled weakly and pocketed the photograph. The two gathered their dishes and were about to dump them in the sink when they heard the sound of heavy footsteps racing down the stairs.

The tower staircase door swung open and slammed against the wall beside it. Jacky and Sunny whirled around and found themselves facing Fiona, her eye burning with rage.

She immediately grabbed Jacky by the collar of his shirt. "_Where is it_?" she roared. "Tell me now!"

"Where is what?" Jacky choked, struggling to keep himself from being strangled by Fiona's fierce grip.

"Don't give me that! You know what I mean! Now tell me what you've done with it or else I'll hurt you!" Fiona shouted.

Sunny stumbled backwards and pushed herself into the far corner. _Just remain unseen. Don't look guilty._

"I don't know what you're talking about! Really!" Jacky said, tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.

Fiona threw him against the table, knocking over a chair. Jacky quickly stood up and darted around to the other side, making sure to keep a distance between them. She didn't follow him. She placed her hands on the table and glared across at him.

Sunny looked from Fiona to Jacky. She hadn't mentioned the vial she had found. Was that what Fiona wanted?

Fiona straightened herself and calmly peered at him with her one frosty eye. "Aye. Of course you're not going to make this easy, are you?"

Jacky swallowed and wiped tears off his face. "I'll tell you what I know." His voice was slightly yielding, as if he had been through this before and already knew what to do to avoid punishment.

Fiona smiled coolly. "Aye. Good boy." She casually sauntered over to the counter and traced her finger through some spilled flour. "Talk," she commanded.

Jacky frowned as he racked his mind for something to say. Sunny noticed his worried expression and took a small, hesitant step forward. Jacky couldn't really tell her anything, Sunny knew that. But Fiona didn't. What would she do when she found out?

"But I…I don't…_know_ anything," he stammered. He cringed and braced himself for Fiona's reaction.

She turned and scowled at him. "No?"

Jacky shook his head.

After pausing for a moment to figure out what she would do next, Fiona meandered back to the table and leaned forward against it, as if she wanted to get a good look at the fear in his eyes.

"Jacky?" she said.

"Yes, ma'am?" he timidly answered.

"Do you remember why I let you stay here?"

Jacky silently shook his head again.

"Because," Fiona began, "I thought you were exceptional. Aye, you _are_ exceptional, compared to the others. But lately you've been…I don't know what it is. You're different. Cocky. Too smart for your own good. Are you following me Jacky?"

Although Sunny could tell he wasn't, he nodded.

"I thought you could be a great Volunteer, Jacky. You've got it in your blood. Inherited it." Fiona took a step away from the table and drew herself up to her full height. A sinister scowl returned to her face. "And that's what I don't like about you."

Jacky's eyes narrowed, and he sneered back at her. This was something they've argued about before, Sunny could tell. She took another defiant step towards her friend.

"Why? Why exactly? Is it because I know about your secret?" Jacky asked, voice rising.

"Aye, maybe that's it!" Fiona shouted. "Maybe it's about time I've done away with you. You're useless to me anyway. You've become too much like-"

"Like who? Like my father?" Jacky yelled. "He warned me about you! I should have listened to him! Maybe I wouldn't be in this mess! He told me-"

"Your father knows _nothing_!" Fiona yelled. With an infuriated growl, she snatched a knife from the counter and hurled it at Jacky. It stuck into the table inches away from where his hand would have been if he hadn't fallen over backwards at her outburst. Sunny dashed to his side and helped him up.

Fiona pointed a long, slender finger at Jacky, as if accusing him for some crime he had committed by saying what he did. "Don't you _ever_ mention him again! He's a foolish, idiotic traitor who doesn't even know what's good for him! Aye! I don't want to hear his name, I don't want to hear you talk about him, I don't want you to _ever_ say or do anything that has to do with him!" She walked up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Do you understand me?" she snarled.

"Let go of him!" Sunny shouted.

Fiona dropped Jacky and turned to stare at Sunny. Her eye was wide and there was genuine surprise in her expression, as if she hadn't noticed Sunny at all. She straightened her back and smoothed down her red-brown hair.

Clearing her throat, Fiona looked down her nose at Sunny. Her jaw fixed in a rigid frown as she let her icy gaze pierce the girl's soul. "Don't you be getting any ideas either," she murmured. She then turned and began to climb up the stairs.

Her hand on the eye-shaped doorknob, Fiona suddenly stopped and looked back over her shoulder at the two, her glare directed mainly at Jacky. "Don't think I won't find it," she said. There was an eerie, calm tone in her voice, a voice that would haunt the children for years. "I will."

She shut the door behind her and retreated to her tower room.

After standing there in silence for several minutes, Jacky turned and, without a word, climbed up another set of stairs to the children's bedroom.

And Sunny was alone.

Again.

She looked sideways at the knife that still protruded from the table. The knife that could have taken the one ally she had left in the world. Sunny was letting Jacky bear the consequences for a wrong she had done. And he didn't even know it.

But it was a wrong against Fiona. Fiona was the enemy. Did that still make it wrong? Or did it make it right? Could two wrongs actually make a right?

Sunny could almost hear their voices echoing, reverberating off the ceiling high above her.

_I should have listened to him! Maybe I wouldn't be in this mess!_

Sunny stuck her hand in her pocket. She felt the smooth glass of the vial against her fingers. The weight was lighter without the guilt of the stolen picture.

Yet it had still grown heavier with the guilt of betrayal.

_Oh Klaus,_ Sunny thought. _I should have listened to you._

She stared at the doorknob of the tower door, the lock she had picked just the day before. And it was only to get herself into so much more trouble. Jacky had been worried for a good reason, it turned out.

_Maybe I wouldn't be in this mess._

And the doorknob stared back.


	11. Chapter 11: D i z z y

**Wow! I've discovered that the longer you wait to write a chapter, the more reviews you get! But don't worry; I'll try not to take as long with the rest of the story.**

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Fufulupin: I really liked those, as you called them, "Reassurance in the Night" fics you wrote. Your other fic is pretty good so far also, just…so sad… Poor, poor Sunny… -Sniff- Anyway, I'm glad you like this story. :)**

**Smartlilazn: Awesome. Thanks. Dude. ;)**

**MlynnBloom: Ah, I can't wait until I finally get to tell you all about the mystery behind Jacky! Hopefully you won't be disappointed. And Merry Christmas to you too!**

**Arden C. Evans: Yeah, Fiona rocks! –Looks around quickly, then whispers- (You see, I'm trying to be nice to Fiona so she'll give me my accordion back. I miss it. :'()**

**LolliPopsAreTears: Thank you, thank you. –Bows before her audience- I would like to thank- ACK! Hey, who threw that fruit at me?! Hmph… Anyway…Well, I'll say that Jacky has _some_ connection to a certain writer, perhaps the one you speak of, but I'm not saying what it is…**

**SaturnStorm: Oh, ooh ooh thank you! And more you all shall have!**

**Lady Emily: Nope, Mr. Jacky's Dad's identity has not yet been revealed. Well, actually his name has. It's Mr. Jacky's Dad. ;)**

**Samela: Howdy Sam! Thanks for stopping by! And I'm updating, don't you fret.**

**Phoenix72389: Thank you! But you know, Fiona's not evil, just misunderstood. She's actually a nice person once you get to know her. (I'm still trying to get my accordion back, in case you couldn't tell.)**

**Ed the Giant Racoon: My computer was doing that a while ago. My dad finally had to upgrade some virus protection program and it's been fine ever since. Oh well, I hope you get it fixed! And thanks!**

**As I said before, it took me a while to get this chapter up, and I'm _really_ sorry it took so long. It's just, you know, the holidays are coming and everything and everyone's been so busy, including me. At first I was writing the two parts in this chapter separate, but I figured, "Well, they're both short, and you guys have been so nice and patient too, so I might as well put 11 and 12 together and give you a good long chapter!" Looking back at it now, I'd definitely have to say that this is the longest chapter I've ever written! **

**So here it is! I'll try to get the next chapters out sooner**

Chapter 11: D i z z y

_There is a way._

_There has to be a way._

Klaus stared at yet another blank page of typewriter paper. The typewriter had gathered dust, and the only clean keys were the ones Klaus's fingers were resting on. It was hard for him to believe he hadn't written anything since Sunny had been kidnapped.

No…Not kidnapped. Recruited.

He sighed.

_Think, Klaus, think._

Klaus thought. For a very long time. Finally, with a groan of defeat, he let his head fall into his hands. All of this was making him dizzy.

"There's no way…" he murmured to himself. Klaus looked up when he heard a knock at his apartment door.

Klaus adjusted his loose tie and attempted to tame his unkempt hair. When he figured he looked presentable enough for company, he stood up and opened the door. He wasn't expecting to see the slender, dark-haired presence of Isadora standing there, shivering slightly in her long coat.

"Isadora! Uh…I…I wasn't expecting you," Klaus said.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry if I came at a bad time. I just stopped by to say hi, but I'll go if you're busy."

"No, no, I'm not really doing anything anyway," he replied. "You can come in if you want. I was thinking of making some coffee, you want some?"

"Okay, I guess so. It's cold out there. Been raining a lot lately, you notice that?"

"Yeah, it has," Klaus said, preparing the coffee.

Isadora glanced sadly at the typewriter, observing the dust. "Haven't been writing much?"

"No…not lately."

"What about that book you were starting?"

Klaus shrugged and poured Isadora a cup of coffee. "I don't know… I just haven't really felt like writing. Right now it seems kind of…" He shook his head.

"…Unimportant?" Isadora finished quietly.

"Yeah." He sat down at the small table and stared at a picture hanging on the wall. "…Compared to what's happened."

Isadora followed his gaze. It was a photograph of Klaus and his sisters. From the miserable looks on their faces, she figured it was probably taken not too long after the fire killed their parents. Isadora knew there was one particular little girl Klaus was looking at.

She sighed and sat down next to him. "Things have been hard…"

"She probably hates me," Klaus said. "She believes all those things Fiona has told her."

"How could Sunny ever hate you?"

"Because it's all true!" Klaus said, his voice getting louder. "You know I started that fire. You know what happened, Isadora!"

"Quit blaming yourself for everything!" she replied. "You know what else I know? I know that you weren't the only one who helped with it. I was out there with a torch too."

"But I was the _first_ one out there…"

"Klaus, it's perfectly understandable. I know you liked Fiona. You were angry. You wanted revenge. We all did. And it was for a good cause."

"But V.F.D. wasn't exactly proud of it either, if you remember that too. I mean, there we were, Volunteers, and we had purposely burned the whole place down! I think it was that fire that eventually led to the destruction of V.F.D.; you saw how bad it got near the end." Klaus sighed and stared down into his coffee. "And it was all for nothing anyway."

"What do you mean, 'nothing'?" Isadora asked. "If we hadn't gotten rid of the rest of the Medusoid Mycelium, who knows how many others could have died?"

"That's my point, Isadora. Like you said, I wanted revenge. But to me it was all for nothing because Fiona was never dead!" He shook his head in bewilderment. "I just don't get it. Fiona was poisoned. I'm positive about that, I practically saw her die. But…" Klaus's voice trailed off. He rubbed his forehead with his fingers, trying to make sense out of it all. After a few silent moments of pondering, he shook his head. "It kinda sent me for a loop, you know? Just to believe something, and then find out it was all a lie…"

Isadora smiled understandingly and squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah, I know. But, as I was going to say, I don't think Sunny could ever hate you, really." Klaus looked up at her, doubt still clouding his normally pure eyes. "There's kind of an instinct," Isadora continued, "that you're there to protect her, that you'd never do something like this on purpose. I know, she hasn't really_ known_ you for very long, considering all those years she and Violet were gone, but she even said herself once, that she remembered she had a brother who cared for her. I think she still remembers that."

Klaus couldn't help but let a small grin twitch at the corners of his lips, partly at the possibility Isadora could be correct, and partly in wonder at her amiable personality. "How do you stay so positive all the time?" he asked, his smile growing.

Isadora smirked. "I took optimism lessons from Phil," she sarcastically joked.

They both laughed.

She sighed contentedly. "I guess you just have to keep it in your mind that everything works itself out eventually. We'll get Sunny back. Just keep thinking that."

Klaus nodded slowly, not letting his gaze leave her face. It seemed like her lips were perpetually in the form of a smile, even when she wasn't trying; there was always that slight curve at one side. How could someone who's been through so much be so hopeful? Isadora had endured the tragedy of her parent's deaths at such a young age. There was a time when no one was sure if Quigley had been trapped in the same fire. It almost didn't matter anyway; he never visited and was rarely in contact with his siblings. Isadora's years as a Volunteer had constantly thrown her in the path of danger; she had been faced with her own possible death and the deaths of others numerous times. So many things must have been haunting her, yet somehow she managed to keep a confident face on for his sake.

Klaus's amazement deepened.

For his sake.

The way she always smiled when he entered the room, how she seemed to always have something positive to counter his negativity, how he had managed to keep his sanity all these years… Isadora was just worried about him.

How had he missed it?

Klaus couldn't help but let his hand stray forward and brush a strand of her hair from her cream-complexioned face. He remembered that day at the grotto, seeing Isadora, a flaming torch in her hand, how she had looked at him, tears streaming down her face. He realized it now; she wasn't crying because of what they were doing.

She was crying for him.

Isadora must have known that something in him had been fatally wounded that day, the same part that died when his sisters disappeared. She saw him fall apart and she didn't want to see it again, now that he was finally healing.

Klaus gazed into her innocent, concerned eyes for a long time. There he was, wallowing in his own sorrow, alone and forlorn, and he had never even suspected that someone was watching out for him the entire time. Shameful tears pooled in his eyes as he realized how much he had taken for granted. "Thank you," Klaus whispered.

"For what?" Isadora asked.

"Everything."

She returned his wistful gaze, yet another warm smile gently quirking up the corners of her mouth. "Thank _you_," she replied.

"What have I ever done for you?"

"Well," she said, "you were the only one who stayed with me when the others disappeared."

"I was knocked unconscious. Olaf thought I was dead."

"Yeah, but the point is, you stuck around. You had the opportunity to leave with Mr. Snicket, remember?"

He shrugged. "Brazil didn't appeal to me."

Isadora's grin became sly and teasing. "No, you stayed for another reason, didn't you?"

Klaus smiled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know," she laughed.

"Come on…" Klaus looked away, pretending to roll his eyes, hoping that they wouldn't tell her that she was right.

Isadora stood up, her unending smile still brightening her face. She sighed. "I guess I should go now. I've got errands to run, people to see, etcetera, etcetera. You know."

Klaus stood also and nodded, somewhat regretfully. "It was nice talking to you," he said, meaning every word.

"Anytime." Isadora stopped at the door and turned to gaze at him. The pitying look that shaded her eyes had changed. There was something more serious in them now, something that created a resolve between the two. It told him what "Anytime" really meant; that it was her way of saying that she would always be there if he needed her.

That she hoped he would.

After silently staring at him for several moments, Isadora wrapped her arms around Klaus's neck and hugged him tightly. "Remember what I said," she whispered in his ear. "We'll get Sunny back."

Klaus nodded, savoring the feeling of Isadora's dark silk hair against his cheek. She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. Sighing, Isadora brushed a finger across his cheek under his left eye. "Thanks for the coffee, Twitch," she said, and turned and opened the door.

"Anytime," Klaus replied as he watched her leave. The door closed and Klaus put a hand up to his face. A new, genuine smile began to shape his lips. Somehow he knew it, somehow he could feel it.

His twitch was gone.

Klaus walked over to his desk and blew the dust off the typewriter. He sat down and started typing.

_There is a way._

"Jacky?"

Silence.

"Jacky, please come out."

More silence.

_Sigh_.

Sunny turned the doorknob and crept quietly towards her friend. He was sitting at the window, staring at something in his hands. As he slumped on the window seat, his back looked slightly curved as if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders, as if he had been forced out of his childhood and shoved into a life he didn't deserve. Jacky reminded her of how Fernald had looked the last time she saw him; something greatly burdensome had been plaguing his mind. What it was, Sunny never figured out. It didn't seem right to ask.

But if you don't ask, how can you ever know something for sure?

"Jacky," Sunny said again. "What's wrong?"

Jacky continued to gaze at his hands, not turning away from the window. Sunny sat down next to him and leaned closer so she could try to read the expression in his eyes. If there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was that eyes could tell stories. You just had to look hard enough.

Again, she saw the blue ice. The color could be misleading if you were meeting Jacky for the first time. It could look like Fiona's cold, piercing tone or Fernald's softer, yet still fierce and determined hue.

Now, well, it was hard to tell. It almost looked like both. But there was something else in those eyes. Something that was close to letting tears spill. Something that was hurting him.

Something that was ready to surrender.

"You didn't come down for lunch today."

Jacky didn't answer.

"Or breakfast."

He offered something of a shrug and leaned his head against the rain-spattered window.

Sunny finally glanced down at the object in Jacky's hands. It was the photograph she had stolen from Fiona, the one he had asked to keep. She looked pityingly up at Jacky when a tear landed on Kit's face.

"Jacky…" she started. Sunny remembered those long-ago days of hiding with her sister, how she had almost given up so many times. She would find a comfy place to sit and pout, and Violet would come in to find her sulking silently. Sunny had always been so stubborn, not even looking up when her sister gently prodded her to say why she was so sullen. "Sunny, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," Violet would say. Then, it had seemed annoying to Sunny. Now, she would have given anything to hear her sister's motherly voice again.

"Jacky," Sunny said again, "Please talk to me." She tried to look him in the eyes. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Finally he lifted his head and glanced away from the picture. He sighed and shrugged. "I guess I just want to go home," he said quietly.

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. I do too. Although I've got a lot of explaining to do when I get back…" She didn't mention that there probably wasn't any way to escape. "Hmm," she mumbled thoughtfully. "I wonder what Klaus thinks of me now." She frowned and looked out the window. "I wish I could tell him I'm sorry."

Jacky nodded. "Me too."

Sunny arched an eyebrow. "You wish you could tell my brother you're sorry…?"

He grinned slightly and shook his head. "No, I mean my parents."

"Thought so." There was a momentary pause. "Jacky," she said, "You never told me how you got here."

"Well, I ran away from home," he replied. "I felt like my mom and dad were keeping too many secrets from me. Secrets about V.F.D., ones they wouldn't tell me about." Jacky shook his head again. "My dad said, 'There are things in this world that are too terrible for young people to know.' I didn't think that there could ever be any secrets I couldn't handle, so I ran away to this place, hoping to find out what they were from Fiona." He looked away and hugged his knees, as if it had suddenly gotten very cold in the room. "I know now. I guess my dad was right," he whispered.

Sunny turned and watched the cars on the street far below them. For a moment, the world was suddenly quiet again.

Sunny reached into her pocket. Maybe she should show him the vial now. After all she had put him through, it was probably about time he knew why he was going through it.

Sunny frowned. _Strange…Where is it?_

She checked her other pocket.

_Hmm…I must have left it in my coat._

She glanced back at Jacky. He was looking down at the photograph again.

Jacky…Jack…Jacques… 

_Jacques_. Was that his real name?

_Why is it so familiar?_ she pondered.

"What are your parents' names?" Sunny asked.

Jacky opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. The eye-shaped doorknob turned and the door swung open. Leaning against the doorframe was Fiona herself.

She directed her cold glare at Sunny. "Dinnertime," she said. There was a moment of tense silence. After several seconds of the three just staring at each other, Fiona smirked and walked out the door.

"That's weird," Jacky said. Sunny didn't have to ask what he was talking about. They both knew that Fiona usually sent Gwenyth upstairs to call the kids down for dinner. Fiona was always up in the tower and was always the last one to sit down at the table.

"Why did she look at you like that?" Jacky asked.

Sunny shook her head. "She's been looking at me like that a lot today."

The two exchanged a brief sense of concern.

"She's plotting something."

Their suspicions did not ease as the meal began. Weasel gave Sunny the same look as Fiona had when he served the cucumber soup. Gwenyth wouldn't make eye contact with anyone and didn't even crack a smile throughout the duration of the meal. She looked up at Sunny once, though. She didn't say anything. It was just a glance.

There was pity in her eyes.

The other children carried on as if nothing was out of the ordinary; it would have been hard for them to notice it anyway. The only hints as to what Fiona had done were so subtle, so clever, not even Sunny suspected she had done anything at all.

But she would find out soon enough.

Finally, dinner ended and the children dispersed. Then Brigitte, Weasel and Gwenyth quietly exited, leaving only Fiona at the table. Sunny and Jacky were about to leave the dining room when Fiona called after them.

"Sunny," she said. "Why don't you stay a little longer?"

Sunny eyed her warily and reluctantly inched back to the table.

"Um…I'll just wait here," Jacky said, leaning against the wall.

"Leave," Fiona ordered.

Jacky frowned but nodded timidly. Sunny watched him solemnly make his way up the stairs.

Fiona waited until she heard the sound of the door close before she spoke.

"You didn't finish your soup."

Sunny silently sat down in her chair and obediently sipped another spoonful of soup, not taking her eyes off the sinister grin that was forming on Fiona's face.

"So," Fiona said in a casual, conversational tone, "How do you like it here so far, Sunny?"

She shrugged and scooped some more soup into her mouth.

Fiona nodded and picked some dirt out from under her fingernail. "Aye. Been making friends?"

Sunny shrugged again. "Jacky, I guess."

"Jacky, hmm? I'm not so sure about him. Aye, he's a troublemaker. Not sure why I let him stay." Fiona shook her head and glanced back up the stairs. "I might have to do something about him!" she shouted, as if she was talking to the slightly opened door. The door slammed shut.

Fiona grinned at Sunny and sighed. "Don't you just hate it when people eavesdrop on you?"

Sunny gulped down some more soup, almost choking on it at first. She glanced cautiously up at Fiona. "Uh…Yeah."

She chuckled quietly and narrowed her pale-blue eye at Sunny. "You know, you should really have that hole in your pocket fixed."

Sunny dropped her spoon and shoved her hand into her pocket. Her finger stuck out the other side.

When she looked up, the vial was dangling in front of her face.

"I saw it fall out of your pocket this morning," Fiona said, winding the string around her fingers. "I must admit though, the lock-picking thing was quite clever. Violet must have taught you well."

Sunny eyes were wide and she had broken out in a cold sweat. _Oh no, what is she going to do now?_

"How's the soup?" Fiona asked, that familiar smirk spreading across her face.

Sunny looked down at her bowl and then up at Fiona again. Her jaw dropped and she stared back down at what was left of her cucumber soup. She paled.

"You…You put something in it, didn't you?" Sunny asked, beginning to panic.

Fiona tilted her head to one side and raised her eyebrows at her in mock-sympathy. "Feeling dizzy?"

Sunny put a hand up to her head and found that it had become harder to breath. She jumped up from her chair and stumbled backwards. Fiona stood up also, not looking very concerned that Sunny was about to dart out the door. Sunny turned around and found out why.

Weasel was standing in the doorway, a nasty grin revealing all his metal teeth. He was poised to reach out and grab her if she tried to escape.

Then the room started to spin.

And the last thing Sunny saw before everything went black was the terrified look in her own eyes, reflected in his silver smile.


	12. Chapter 12: A l l G o n e

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Fufulupin: Spiffy, I like that word… Anyway, thanks for reading! I'm glad you like it!**

**Ed, the Giant Racoon: Didn't get this one up as soon as I wanted, but I've been busy doing stuffs, so it took longer. Here it is, and thank you!**

**Arden C. Evans: Darn typos! And um… Thanks!**

**NewbiaTheElf: Yay! You liked it. I'm so happy. :)**

**MlynnBloom: Thank you so much! Seriously, I'm glad you guys like it so far. It keeps me writing. I love it when I get all these reviews, it makes me feel so appreciated. Please keep on reading! **

**LolliPopsAreTears: Aha, so you've figured it out! Good job and thank you!**

**SaturnStorm: Dang, I would place a bet, but I'd just give the ending away… Of course, I would win…**

**Phoenix72389: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)**

**Smartlilazn: Okey-dokey then! Another chapter for you!**

**Craz obsessed: T'anks a bunch!**

**Emma-Lizzy-Black: Who knows, maybe they will…**

**I'm sorry this one took a while also. So, since I missed the holidays with you guys, Happy Christmahanakwanzaakuh! Or whatever everyone's saying nowadays. I threw in a bit of romance in this chapter, just to let you guys know, and I hope I didn't make it too sudden or overly-sappy. Let me know what you guys think so far, I love getting reviews! Oh yes, and I've also discovered that if I write the chapter first and _then_ the replies to your reviews, the chapter part itself is usually longer than if I answer your reviews first. Huh. Who knew? Maybe that's the better way to write it…**

Chapter 12: A l l G o n e

_Dear Dairy,_

_It's so nice to be writing again. Things have been really hard lately and it feels good to finally get it all out on paper. _

_Sunny is still gone. She's gone and it's all my fault. I want to listen to Isadora and not worry about her, but there's always this part of me that can't help it. I keep remembering those days when Sunny was just a babbling toddler who could barely even say my name, those days when she needed me. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that she was once that small. She's going to be beautiful someday; a lot of people say she already looks almost exactly like Mother. _

_Right now it feels like I'm letting my whole family down, even Mother and Father. It's so frustrating. It's almost like there's nothing I can do to help Sunny, I'm just sitting here, typing and worrying and thinking up all sorts of plans to rescue her but for some stupid reason I can't _do_ anything to save my own sister and now she's probably there with Fiona, practicing how to burn people's houses down and becoming an arsonist and a criminal and all the while she's thinking "Why isn't my brother _doing_ anything?" and…_

_Oh man…_

_I've got to do something._

_It makes this whole thing seem so…worthless, because there's nothing I _can_ do. I mean, I can't just walk up to Fiona and say, "I've decided I want my sister back. See ya." There's no time to try some midnight break-in and kidnap her back, and Sunny's already got trust issues with me, it's not like she'll like that plan anyway. She'd probably just leave again._

_Oh…Which reminds me…_

_How am I going to get her to trust me again?_

_As far as she knows, I'm some traitor to V.F.D. who goes around starting fires and blinding people. It doesn't help that most of it is true. I _did_ start the grotto fire on purpose, but not because I'm an arsonist, like she thinks. I _did_ blind Fiona, although I'm not exactly sure how. I didn't mean to do it, I'd never do anything to hurt her, even Fiona knows that. But how can I explain that to Sunny without her understanding? It's like I'd be admitting to her that I'm exactly who Fiona says I am. But I'm not. How can I make it clear to you, Sunny, that I'm not?_

_Violet will tell her. Then she'll believe me._

_She trusts Violet._

_Sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would have been like if Mother and Father had never died. I'd probably be off at some college, Harvard probably, and Violet would be getting married. I remember when she was little she always dreamed of having a big, fancy wedding when she was 25, precisely 25. I have no idea why it was that age, but it was always, "When I'm 25 I'm going to get such a beautiful dress," or "At my wedding after I turn 25, there's going to have to be white roses and a big tall cake," or "Maybe I'll have my wedding on my 25th birthday!" And we'd say, "Of course, Violet. When you're 25." And then Father would make some joke about how he might not even let her date until she was 26, and then she'd say she would elope. _

_Violet's 25 now. No wedding._

_I hope she finds someone soon. Quigley still sounds like the right guy for her, but we're all seriously doubting that the once-a-year letter he sends, well, once a year is good enough grounds for a solid relationship. Every once in a while I walk in on her in the study, and there she is, pouring over that one letter he wrote to her, rereading it as if it changes every time she starts over. Violet still loves him. You just have to see the look in her eyes when she reads that letter and you know. Even I'm getting to the point where I want to write to him, just to tell him to reply to Violet's letters. I'd say, "Write to her you dummy!" and that's it. And if he doesn't answer Violet_ _then, I'd send him 25 more letters that say the same thing, one for every year she's been dreaming of getting married. And if he doesn't reply to that, then we'll go find someone else for Violet. Take that, Mr. Quagmire._

_So anyway, if I'm at Harvard and Violet's married, Sunny would probably be at cooking school, or maybe just normal school, or perhaps at home in the library. I can just imagine Mother and Father spoiling Sunny to death. I remember how they were always coddling her as a baby, how Mother loved to dress her up in all sorts of fancy clothes and curl what little hair she had into bouncy golden-brown ringlets, complete with a ribbon tied in a bow. Sunny would probably be getting even more attention from them today, seeing how she would be the only one of us three still living in the house. Oh, how they so looked forward to seeing her grow up…_

_Maybe if we had stopped that fire…Maybe if Mother and Father were still alive…Maybe if we had all had safe, normal childhoods…_

…_Maybe this never would have happened._

Klaus stopped typing and sighed, his weary fingers still resting on the typewriter keys. Frowning, he swiveled around in his chair and stared at his telegraph. It was due for a good dusting; it hadn't been used in ages. It sat silently, almost expectantly, as if to say, "Come on, Klaus, go ahead and send out a quick message to your Volunteer buddies. They'll know what to do."

Klaus stood up and took several pensive towards it. He _could_ Dispatch a few Volunteers, just to see if they had any advice. Fernald might have some ideas. He knew Fiona better than anyone, right?

His hand touched the headphones. _Just put these on_, he told himself. _Just tap out a short message, call for help._

_I can't do this alone._

Right when he was about to flip the device on, the phone rang, jolting him out of his reverie.

Klaus picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Klaus! Klaus, something terrible has happened!" It was Violet's panicked voice.

"What is it?" he asked anxiously. Was that a fire truck siren in the background?

"There was a fire."

Klaus's heart stopped.

"It's Isadora's house."

He let the phone slip from his hand.

Violet's voice was fainter, tinier floating up from the floor, but he still heard her last words.

"There's nothing left, Klaus. You have to get over here quick."

Before Violet could figure out that her brother was no longer listening, Klaus grabbed his jacket and darted out the door.

Smoke blinded him as he stepped off the trolley. For a brief moment, Klaus wondered if he had stopped in front of somebody else's home, or maybe he was facing the wrong direction and was really staring at the charred remains of the house across the street from Isadora's. But sure enough, there was Violet, her pale face tear-streaked and lower lip quivering, hurrying towards him.

_This can't be happening…_ Klaus thought as his sister wrapped her arms around his neck and sniffled.

"We've been calling everyone, everywhere, but still no news about her," Violet said quietly. "Today's her day off, so she wouldn't be at the Diner…"

_No…I'm dreaming…_

Violet pulled away and silently led her brother into the ashy wreckage that was Isadora's house. Burnt bookcases had toppled over, shattered windows had fallen out of their frames, and one blackened, solitary doorframe remained standing resolutely.

"They haven't…_found_ her yet, in case you were wondering," Violet added softly. "We're still looking."

Klaus continued to stare past his sister, not even noticing she was saying anything. He didn't blink, didn't speak, didn't breathe.

_This has to be a dream._

A police officer tapped Violet on the shoulder. "Ma'am, if it's okay with you, I'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Oh, yes, of course," she answered. With one final glance at Klaus, she turned and left, leaving her brother to walk, alone and dazed, through the remains of the once stately home.

_No, this can't be real. I saw her just yesterday. She was fine. She can't be here and then suddenly _not_ be here. It doesn't make sense. It just doesn't make sense._

Klaus knew, subconsciously at least, that it made perfect sense. A fire is a thing that can happen rather quickly, all too quickly, and it was a thing he had figured out from experience. A fire had destroyed his first home in the matter of mere minutes, and all while he was just a few blocks away at the beach. Many significant times and events in his young life had been disrupted by this cruel and scarring element, many places obliterated by this seemingly uncontrollable disaster, all because there had to be two sides to a schism and both sides had to be at war: Uncle Monty's fabulous Reptile Room, because it held evidence that should have been found; Lucky Smells Lumbermill, because without it, Volunteers wouldn't have houses to live in; Prufrock Preparatory School, because without it, no more Volunteers could be recruited and their side of the schism would shrink; Heimlich Hospital, because the greed of a madman said it was a good idea; Caligari Carnival, because more evidence that should have been kept safe had to be destroyed; Countless V.F.D. headquarters and Volunteers' homes, because they were the enemy; And now, Isadora's house…

…Simply because she was too innocent.

It could have made perfect sense to Klaus, maybe if it had been at a different time. But it's a very hard thing, to make sense out of death, especially when it's staring you in the face and threatening to wrench your heart out.

For a silent and confusing moment, Klaus stood motionless, digesting what had happened. There were no tears, no words, no sighs or murmurs, just the dull, raw pain that was slowly beginning to eat away at his hope.

The whole place was entirely demolished, everything leveled to the ground. Not a thing was left standing; the only structure that remained was that doorframe, undoubtedly the iron one that had been the entrance to the library.

_It's gone…All gone…_

_Wait…_

There was a single wall that was still standing upright. One slab of wood left untouched.

Klaus quickly crossed the ashen lot and walked around to the other side of the wall. There was no reason why it shouldn't have been destroyed with the rest of the house; it was just another ordinary…

His eyes widened. There were things hanging on it. Pictures. Photographs. Countless memories, somehow unharmed.

This _wasn't_ just another ordinary wall.

This was _their_ wall.

Every portrait, every picture still hung in its rightful place, every face smiled down at him, oblivious to the ruin and misery that lay behind them. Familiar faces, old faces, young faces, faces of those who were no longer alive, this was where she had kept them; this was how they remembered the past, their past.

It was just another thing that made no sense to Klaus: For some reason, Isadora's Wall of Remembrance had survived the devastating blaze, for some reason it was the only thing that had. And every memory had survived with it.

_No… _Klaus realized, observing a large vacant spot on the wall. _Something's missing._

Frantically he searched for the absent portrait. He couldn't lose this one; he needed it now.

Klaus halted abruptly when he felt something crunch beneath his foot. Slowly, he took a step backwards and crouched down to examine what it was that he had stepped on. He carefully brushed the broken glass of the picture frame away from the photograph and longingly stared at Isadora's smile, a cunning, compassionate smile he would never see again.

And then it finally hit him.

_She's gone._

That's when the tears came, that's when everything fell apart. She was gone. Gone forever. This picture was the last Klaus would ever see of Isadora, his friend, his light, his life. She was gone.

She was dead.

Klaus fell to his knees and crumpled the picture in his fist. Why, why must these things always happen to _him_? First it was just his parents, and then it happened to everyone else he loved. They were all gone, they had all left him behind. He had no one. And although he _did_ have Violet, who's to say that she wouldn't be gone soon also?

And if that ever did happen… Then he had no one.

Klaus buried his face in his hands and let the tears flow. He didn't hear the_ ding-ding_ of the trolley as it stopped in front of the house, didn't notice how everyone immediately flocked to crowd around the person who had just gotten off.

Such things went unnoticed to Klaus. Something was happening in his mind; one part was fiercely enraged, another was being tortured with overwhelming grief, a third part was trying in vain to make sense of it all, and all three were colliding and clashing and threatening to drive him insane.

"Oh Isadora…" he whispered. "Oh Izzy…"

Klaus jumped when he heard someone giggle behind him.

By some sort of reflex he had developed over the years, he shot up and whirled to face whoever was behind him all in one swift movement. But nothing could have prepared him for the shock he received at that moment.

There was a young woman standing there. She was slender and attractive, and wearing a long coat to keep out the approaching cold. She had short, glossy black hair and wide, beautiful eyes lined with long dark eyelashes that blinked at Klaus expectantly.

And there was that smile…

"You…You called me Izzy," she said shyly.

Klaus continued to gawk, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

Isadora shifted awkwardly. "I just…You know, I…I thought that was sweet," she explained.

She stared at her shoes for a moment, waiting for Klaus to reply. When he didn't, she looked up and raised her eyebrows at him as if to say, "Alright, I'm waiting, say something…"

Isadora suddenly frowned and looked closer at him. "Were you crying?"

She didn't get an answer, however, because before Klaus could say anything, he grabbed Isadora's arm and pulled her into a tight, desperate embrace that almost squeezed the air out of her.

Isadora coughed and patted him on the back. "I'm glad to see you too," she gasped.

"Oh Izzy," Klaus said, fresh tears of relief and profound elation pooling in his eyes. "Izzy, Izzy, Izzy, I'll call you that whenever you want, just don't leave me, please don't ever leave me."

"I won't, Klaus," Isadora whispered. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I won't if you won't."

"Anything, Izzy," Klaus replied, burying his face in her hair. "I'll do anything for you."

"Well, you could start by not crushing me."

"Oh, sorry." Klaus loosened his hold around her waist slightly but didn't let go. He pulled back and offered a sheepish smile. "I…I didn't know…"

Isadora grinned and absently fingered the corner of his jacket collar. "That's okay, it was just getting a little hard to breathe," she said. She brushed a stray tear from his cheek and sighed, her smile growing fainter. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"I thought you were dead," he said quietly, not wanting to dwell on the prospect. "We called everywhere, but no one said they had seen you. The neighbors said you should have been at home this time of day and they didn't see you leave. Everyone was sure you were a goner." Klaus frowned and narrowed one eye in suspicion. "Where were you anyway?"

"Oh, shopping, running errands," Isadora answered quickly. "You know. Stuff."

"Stuff. Right."

Isadora smiled.

Klaus smiled with her.

"I'm so glad you're safe," he said after contentedly staring at her for a moment. "I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."

She looked around, scanning the charred wreckage. Sighing again, Isadora tightened her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Wow…" she murmured. "It's all gone, isn't it?"

"No, not all of it." Klaus pointed behind them, turning so she could see the wall.

Her eyes widened slightly and her mouth opened in incredulity. "And this was the only thing that…?"

He nodded, grinning faintly at the mystified expression that veiled her face. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Isadora breathed. A dreamy, serene look filled her eyes and Klaus could tell she was going into one of her poetic moods. "Fire can destroy homes, tear families apart and ruin lives…" She turned back to him and gazed deep into his pure eyes. "…But it can't take the memories," she finished quietly, her voice fading to a whisper.

And then a strange feeling began to engulf Klaus. Suddenly there was this desire of an indefinite kind, a need for something he didn't even know he didn't have. It was like a piece of his life was missing and he hadn't realized it until that moment. And now Klaus knew what it was.

Who it was.

There was something so…perfect about knowing Isadora was close by and that she cared for him, something perfect about the feeling of her arms around him. It was a strange, new emotion for Klaus; more like the advanced scale of what he had felt twinges of before. It was a sort of longing, a longing for completion, and for a part of him that only she could complete. And it was a feeling he liked.

"You'd think that with all this lousy weather, it would have rained or something," Isadora said breathlessly, her lips drawing closer to his.

"Yes," he agreed, tightening his arms around her, still staring intently into her wide, beautiful eyes. "Maybe none of this would have happened."

Isadora touched her forehead to his and Klaus could feel her eyelashes brush against his skin, her warm breath on his cheek. "That would have been a shame," she whispered.

_Creeeak!_

Isadora pulled back. "What was that?"

They both looked down. Before they could identify the noise, the weak wooden floor decided that it simply couldn't support their weight any longer. With a yelp and a crash, the two fell through and landed hard on the gray dirt floor below the house.

"Ow…my head…" Klaus moaned after lying there, dazed, for a moment.

"What just happened?" Isadora asked, sitting up and rubbing her head.

"I think the floor caved in," Klaus said, sitting up also. "And we landed in some sort of…" his jaw dropped as he looked deeper into the darkness.

"…Tunnel…"

Isadora frowned. "I don't remember finding any kind of trap door in the house," she said.

"Strange," Klaus mumbled, remembering the mysterious tunnels he and Violet had found under the theater. "Well, I guess the question now is, where does it lead?"

"Come on then, let's go explorin' around," Isadora said, standing up.

Klaus rubbed his aching skull. "Can't we just sit here for a while?"

Isadora grinned and pulled him up. "No, let's go. I want to find out why there are suddenly these tunnels under my house and how I didn't know sooner."

"Hey you guys!"

Klaus and Isadora looked up to see who was calling down to them. Violet was peering down through the hole in the floor.

"You see anything down there?" she asked.

"Just more tunnels," Klaus called back. He pointed at Isadora. "Hey Violet, check it out, Isadora's alive," Klaus said.

"Yeah, you're, like, the last to know, Klaus," she answered.

"Like, really?"

"Like, yeah."

Isadora laughed. "Come on down, you can, like, help us look around."

Violet lowered herself into the opening in the floor and surveyed the tunnel.

"Wow, this whole thing keeps getting weirder and weirder…" she murmured, squinting down the shaft. She turned to the others. "Well, shall we?"

Klaus and Isadora exchanged a look. "Lead the way," Klaus said.

Violet eyed them for a moment, grinning slightly in amused suspicion. Then she turned again and began to make her way through the hazy blackness.

The two followed after a brief, yet meaningful instant. Isadora reached out and hooked her finger around Klaus's, whispering, "So we won't get lost."

Klaus nodded and gently grasped her hand.

That would be a shame.

"Look, I think I see a light up there."

They had reached what seemed like a dead end, but sure enough, there was something shining down on them in tiny pinpricks of light.

"Maybe it's the trapdoor," Isadora said. "Try pushing it."

Klaus reached up and pressed on it to find that it was made of cold metal. "It's kind of heavy," he grunted, pushing with both hands now. Violet and Isadora tried lifting it with him, and, after being rained on by a short shower of dirt and gravel, finally got the door to open.

The three climbed out of the tunnel and realized that it had led to the middle of a very familiar road. Looking down, Klaus saw that the trapdoor had been a manhole cover.

"Let's get out of the street before a car hits us," Violet said, heading for the sidewalk.

Isadora pointed across the lane. "Look!"

The others turned and followed her astonished gaze. She was pointing at an old house, one that they all hoped never to see again. There was a long black car parked in the driveway. It had several small holes in the back of the trunk, undoubtedly punctured by several small bullets during some high-speed car chase that had occurred decades before.

"If it leads here…then…" Violet's voice trailed off as the whole situation finally clicked in her mind. "Let's take a look."

They cautiously crept around to the backyard of the darkly foreboding home, warily peering in through the windows and checking to see if they were being watched. Klaus froze when he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure walking past a dust-coated window.

"There are people in there," Klaus hissed, ducking to avoid being seen. "Someone should go back and get help."

"From who?" Violet asked.

"The Volunteers."

Isadora's eyes opened wider. "The Volunteers? Who? Which ones?"

"All of them," Klaus decided. It was about time they all had that reunion everyone was talking about. And any Volunteer would come to the aid of his comrade. "You should go, Isadora. This might get dangerous anyway."

She frowned and looked unsure for a moment. "Alright," she said after thinking it over, somewhat hesitantly. "I'll be back soon." Isadora looked at Klaus. "Be careful."

Klaus watched her as she turned and walked away. _I will if you will._

He heard Violet gasp behind him. "Klaus," she said, her voice faint and shaky. "Look up."

Klaus whirled around and looked up, past the ivy lattice, past the bedroom balcony, and up at the tower. There was an iron bar protruding from the bricks outside the window. Hanging from it was an old, rusty cage.

Someone was in it.


	13. Chapter 13: The T r u t h, Part I

**Dear Reviewers:**

**Ed, the giant Racoon: Okay, I'm updating now, finally! Hopefully you haven't keeled over from the suspense yet.**

**Violet K. Baudelaire: Supreme dictatoress of the ASoUE universe…I think I like that title. From now on, everyone has to call me by that, got it? ;) J/K,j/k… I'm glad you like this story so much! If readers like you keep reviewing, I'll keep writing, promise. :)**

**Samela: Thank you! Updating…Now!**

**LollipopsAreTears: Wow, I know I'm doing my duty as a writer when my readers get so attached to the characters…and they aren't even my characters…But it's almost the same thing, right? Sorta kinda? Anyway, thank you, loyal reviewer. :)**

**MlynnBloom: Déjà vu indeed! And remember, Sunny didn't want to visit the Eiffel tower in France because she was afraid of heights for reasons she couldn't remember…hmm…**

**Nny11: Thank you! I'm glad you think so. :)**

**NewbiaTheElf: You know, I'll admit it, I'm not that satisfied with the end of the last chapter either. I wanted to hurry and get it completed so I could post it, so it was a bit rushed. And I know, I know, I should take my time with these, but I didn't want to wait any longer. I'll try to be more careful in the future. But anyway, I'm glad you liked the rest. :)**

**Smartlilazn: Thanks…I'm glad.**

**Phoenix72389: Hey, your review kinda reminded me of Captain Widdershins! Just replace the AAHH!s with Aye!s and it's almost exactly the same. :D Anyways…Thank you!**

**Fufulupin: Okey dokey, I'm updating now. Sorry ASAP didn't turn out to be that soon…**

**Craz obsessed: I hope this dangling feeling you're experiencing goes away, it would be a most unfortunate thing if you acquired a deathly fear of heights as well as our young heroine. And I'm updating now, please don't cry!**

**Arden C. Evans: Yes, 'tis a very big birdcage. Still, poor Sunny's probably gonna need a trip to the chiropractor afterwards. Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it. :)**

**B r o k e nSMILES: Thank you! For the compliment and for reviewing.**

**Xxhannahbananaxx: I'm so sorry this took so long! I'm not gone yet, don't worry. I may be a procrastinator but I don't give up easily! If this ever happens again and I take forever to update, remember that I'd never just leave a story incomplete simply because I got bored with it. The only reasons why I might discontinue a fanfic is if I suddenly keel over, fall mortally ill, or if I am dragged away by the ankles by a secret organization… **

**x-everywhere-x: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it.**

**Harry-Potter-fan01: Thanks for the review! Glad ya like it.**

**Riley Roberts: Thank you! And yes, poor Sunny. She has terrible karma. Anyway, updating now…**

**OK. I…am…SO sorry I didn't update sooner. There's just so much that's been happening, what with school being a monster and my parents getting stricter with my bedtime, I haven't had as much time to write as I'd like.**

**Now, this chapter does reveal a lot of secrets, but I keep wishing I had written it better. The ending may sound a little rushed, because when I wrote it I sort of was rushing, and I didn't have time to go back and change anything that needing rewriting. You see, I'm going on a cruise tomorrow, (W00T!) so I won't have internet access for a week and I didn't want to force you guys to wait any longer for an update. I have a soft spot for my readers, what can I say? ;) So anyway, I apologize if this doesn't flow as well, and don't worry, I'll have my notebook with me on my trip so I'll be starting the next chapter soon, and working very carefully on it!**

**Anyway, this is part one of chapter 13. I divided it into two parts because I thought they should sort of parallel each other, with part 2 happening at the same time as part 1. They sort of go together, so I guess they're both the same chapter. If that makes sense.**

**I hope you guys like it. And once again, SO SORRY!**

Chapter 13: The T r u t h, Part I

Or what I really wanted to call it although it was too long:

Chapter 13: The Truth Behind the Lies Behind the Man Behind the F e d o r a

Sometimes, when you first wake up from a long sleep, you probably find yourself somewhat disoriented and confused. Sometimes you don't know where you are or how long you've been resting. But sometimes, even before you open your eyes, you are aware of things around you; the voices of your family nearby, the feeling of the warm blankets tucked around you, the smell of breakfast being prepared downstairs.

Sunny was experiencing the same occurrence not too long after her brother and sister arrived at a certain villain's intimidating home. She did not, however, hear the voices of her siblings, or feel the warmth of her familiar bed, or smell the scent of something delicious cooking in the oven.

Instead she sensed several different things; things she thought she had sensed before.

There was darkness.

Wind. Cold wind.

A sort of rusty smell.

Something hard underneath her.

She felt very cramped, as if she had been stuffed into tiny bank vault.

And she heard…someone humming?

…Humming a song she had heard before…?

Then she remembered…

It was that song Violet had sung to her during the cold, lonely nights they had spent shivering together, the one their mother had sung to Violet years before. Sunny didn't hear the words now, but Sunny could remember perfectly what they were.

_When we grab you by the ankles where our mark is to be made/You'll soon be doing noble work although you won't be paid…_

The wind began to blow, freezing and mocking.

When we drive away in secret, you'll be a volunteer… 

Sunny began to feel the strange sensation of rocking backwards and forwards, like on a swing.

So don't scream when we take you…The world is quiet here. 

She opened her eyes.

And screamed.

She was locked in a cage.

A cage that was suspended 30 feet above the ground.

And suddenly Sunny remembered why she was afraid of heights.

The wind blew again, pushing the cage and sending her mind reeling. Looking up, she saw that it was only hanging by a single rusty metal ring attached to the top, and she wondered how it could possibly support her weight.

Horror began to seep into her mind, began to engulf her, began to make her dizzy again. Cold sweat dripped down her face, tears pooled in her eyes.

…What if it _couldn't_ support her weight?

Oh no, she thought. This was it. She was going to die soon, she was sure of it. The cage was going to break, she was going to fall and every bone in her body would shatter. Her death would be a brutal and bloody one, and nobody would ever know how overwhelmingly petrified she was as the ground rushed up at her, as her all too short life flashed before her eyes…

The wind again rattled the cage's fragile frame and Sunny grabbed the rusty bars and screamed. "Someone let me out! Someone help!" she shrieked, rocking back and forth and pulling on the bars, causing the cage to swing even more wildly.

"Whoa! Hey, careful!" An arm reached through the window and attempted to steady the cage, despite the fact that Sunny was still screaming and not aware of the person in the tower.

"Hey, just- Hold on- Wait!"

"AAAH! Get me out of here!"

"Would you just-"

"Help me! Somebody! Please…" Sunny whined, her panicked screams eventually becoming a pathetic whimper. "Oh, who am I kidding…" she groaned.

She heard a shrill whistle behind her.

"This thing isn't very strong," said a voice. "Try not to move around so much."

Sunny turned as best as she could and finally saw that she wasn't alone.

There was a large, strong hand that firmly clasped the cage bar, and her gaze traveled down the arm and up to the face of whoever had stuck around to keep her company. It was a handsome face, with a rigid chin covered in slight 5 o'clock shadow. Dark hair hung around this face, falling down over one deep brown eye, almost reaching his shoulders. There was a certain gleam in his one visible eye, a sort of look that seemed like he was trying to be friendly, yet Sunny could tell that there was pain hiding behind it.

She knew who it was. Without question.

This was Fedora.

…Without the fedora.

The voice was familiar. The song he had been humming was familiar. And his face, now that she could see it, was probably the most familiar thing she had seen throughout her whole stay at Fiona's.

"Duncan?"

Fedora smiled and shook his head.

No, Sunny thought, it couldn't have been Duncan. This smile was different, not the mischievous smirk he always wore. This was a softer smile, more serious, sadder. Yet everything else about him was almost exactly the same as Duncan, as if he was his twin, or…

…or his triplet.

Then she realized it.

Her jaw dropped.

"You! You're the other triplet! You're Quigley!" Sunny said. "I can't believe it! You're Quigley! Wow!"

Quigley smiled wider. "You got it," he said, taking his fedora from the table and setting it on his head. He tipped the brim back so she could see his face. He narrowed his eyes slyly. "But you better not tell anyone."

"Oh, I won't!" Sunny said, now considerably distracted from her situation. "Wow, I can't believe I'm finally meeting you!" She stuck her hand out through the bars. "I'm Sunny."

"Yeah. I know."

"Oh yeah." She let out an embarrassed giggle. "Heh. I kinda forgot that. You know, because I thought you were just Fedora and not Quigley, and it feels like I'm just meeting you for the first time and… Wow. This is, like…Wow."

Quigley chuckled softly and shook his head. He turned around on his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "Yeah, well, it has been a while, hasn't it?" he asked, scribbling something in a notebook.

Sunny nodded, cautiously shifting to a less cramped position in the rickety old cage. "It has. But it feels like I've known you my entire life. I've heard so much about you. From Violet especially."

He looked up and quirked an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Are you kidding? She doesn't stop talking about you! It's always 'Quigley this, Quigley that,' or 'Oh look! A letter from Quigley! I'm going to go up to my room and read it over and over a million times!' or 'The phone's ringing! Maybe it's Quigley!' Seriously, you never hear the end of it, living with her." Sunny grinned and shook her head. Quigley was smiling too, but it was a different kind of smile.

"Well," he said, turning back to his notebook, "It seems to me that you've gotten yourself into a rather dicey predicament here, Miss Baudelaire. You know, you were always one for this sort of thing, meddling in other's affairs…"

Sunny frowned. "What are you talking about?" she asked defensively. "I was tricked into all this! It's not my fault, I had no idea-"

"No, Sunny, I understand that part, more than you think. But if I am correct, I also understand that you took something that didn't belong to you," he replied.

She looked down ashamedly. True, stealing that vial _was_ what had gotten her into this mess. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that… But I was just trying to find some sort of evidence that could give me some sort of idea what Fiona was up to…"

"Yes, but still, you should respect the privacy of others. Especially when they keep their door locked. And bolted. And have surveillance cameras hidden in the eyes in the paintings."

Sunny quirked an eyebrow and peered through the window at the paintings. _The paintings…Of course. All Volunteers used to have at least one in their mansion. That's how she knew._ "But…" She lowered her voice cautiously. "You mean she can see us right now? She doesn't mind us talking like this?"

"No, I don't think Fiona's paying much attention to the surveillance monitors at the moment. Apparently, she's expecting a visitor down in the study."

"Hmm…" Sunny mumbled thoughtfully. She frowned. "But if she knew it was me, why did she get so mad at Jacky?"

Quigley shrugged. "It was an act. She's got these ways of doing things. One moment, you think she's on your side, the next, she's got a knife to your throat. I guess she figured that you'd come clean sooner or later if she threatened your friend. Fiona's a much more complex person then you make her out to be, Sunny. She's got some serious issues, yes, but she's a crafty one." He sighed and scratched something else down on his notebook. "She's got tricks up her sleeves I can't even began to think of," he continued, slightly quieter. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's don't underestimate Fiona." Quigley shrugged again. "And she never really liked Jacky anyway."

"Why doesn't she?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, something happened between Fiona and his dad a long time ago. Doesn't like to talk about him." He looked back down at his notebook and quietly began to write again.

"Oh," she said. Sunny had been hoping to get more of an explanation than that; she could already tell Fiona had something against Jacky's father, that was as plain as day. She sighed. Why won't anyone tell anything? "Hey…" she began, cautiously shifting and looking down at the ground far below her, "Um…Do you think you could maybe…I dunno, get me out of here?"

Not looking up, Quigley silently shook his head.

Sunny blinked. "Why not?"

"You're forgetting who I work for."

A sickly feeling sank into her stomach.

Why didn't she even consider it before?

"You…You're on _her_ side…?" Sunny said, tears beginning to burn in her eyes, her words half a question, half an exclamation of disbelief and frustration.

Quigley stopped writing. "Now wait-"

"I can't believe it! After all she's done to me, after all she's done to Jacky, after all she's done to my brother…" She looked down and swallowed the lump in her throat. "After all I've done to my brother…" Sunny sniffed piteously. "_How can you not see it?_" she asked, her voice getting louder, cracking on the last word.

"Sunny, hold on-"

"How can you not see what kind of a person that Fiona is? She tried to kill Jacky! Did you see the knife? She's an arsonist and a liar and she's probably a murderer too! She's everything V.F.D. is fighting against, everything Klaus was trying to protect me from!" she screamed.

"Just listen!"

"She shot my sister for Pete's sake!"

Quigley winced.

"You said it yourself!" Sunny yelled. "Fiona is a traitor and would just as soon turn on you too! How can you even think of taking her side?"

"Sunny, I'm not! Would you just listen?" Quigley shot back.

She shut her mouth and watched him intently, waiting for an explanation.

He sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead. Stealing one last suspicious glance at the paintings hanging on the walls, Quigley leaned in closer to the cage, resting his elbows on the windowsill.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to let a word of it slip to Fiona or anyone who knows her?" he hissed.

Sunny nodded, her curiosity growing.

Quigley bit his lip and stared past her for a brief moment, thinking. Then he wheeled his chair from the desk to the window and sat down, clearing his throat. "Alright. Well…Um, you see…It's like…Oh, how should I say this…"

Sunny drummed her fingers on a cage bar impatiently.

"It's an act," Quigley said. "I guess you could say I'm pretending."

"So…You're like a spy?" Sunny asked.

"Something like it. But it's different really. What I'm doing is more like…like deciding to work with Fiona, and then suddenly changing my mind before I get in too deep."

"Oh, I get it, so you're like…a spy."

He shook his head. "No, it's not exactly…" Quigley frowned and scratched his chin contemplatively. "Okay, yeah. Basically. Only more intense. It's like becoming the enemy to know the enemy, to be part of them to learn to think like them. You probably wouldn't understand, it's kind of like being…"

"…A Volunteer?" Sunny finished quietly.

Quigley stared at her thoughtfully for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Yeah. Just like that. We were trained for this sort of thing, back when we were kids. Mr. Snicket was the sort of 'Master of Disguise,' if you will. He taught us everything he knew about blending in, about virtually becoming someone you aren't. The hat kind of completes it, in my opinion," he said, fingering the brim of his fedora.

"I wish I could remember him," Sunny said. "My brother's told me so much about Mr. Snicket, and I've read his books, but it feels like I never knew him."

"He was a great man. A true Volunteer, if there ever was one. I went traveling with him in Brazil, to get my career in cartography started, and he taught me a thing or two about V.F.D. and what it was all about before the Schism. He said it's changed since then, to the point where it essentially wore itself out. After a while, we went our separate ways. When I heard about how all the former Volunteers were considering getting V.F.D. started up again, I thought about what Mr. Snicket said and decided to try out what I'd learned from him. I figured the Volunteers would need some information on who they were up against, so why not find out myself?"

"Right…" Sunny murmured to herself, wiping a remaining tear from her cheek. "But…do you…" Sunny's voice trailed off. She frowned and shook her head. "Never mind."

"What?"

Sunny shrugged. "I don't know, I was just…When Fiona does things, crimes… When she burns people's houses down…" She looked intently into his eyes. "…Do you help?"

Quigley looked back at her, that hidden pain clouding his chocolate eyes. Silence seemed to suffocate the air, to darken the sky and make the wind blow. Sunny knew silence was never good. It meant that there was something she shouldn't know, when the other person involved in the conversation didn't want to take his turn to speak. And yes, silence was a thing Sunny was used to. But not this silence. Now it was frightening, sinister. It didn't seem just unfair anymore, that he had known something she didn't. This was the worst kind. The wrong kind.

Sunny didn't want him to speak. She didn't want an answer.

Quigley looked down and turned his back, scribbling once again on his notebook.

"How come you never write back to my sister?" Sunny asked.

"Because I'm always being watched. I've tried, but I can't," he said, not looking up. "It would blow my cover." Quigley closed his notebook and held it up. The cover was worn and taped in several places and looked as if it were about to fall off. Some of the pages were wrinkled by water, and by the looks of it, coffee damage. Some papers had been stuffed in and stapled to the back cover; others were curled and ripped at the corners. Sunny wondered what the notebook could have gone through and why Quigley still kept it.

"What's that?" she asked him.

"This," Quigley answered, tapping the cover, "is where I've written down everything that's happened to me since I first wrote to your sister. This is my journal, my thoughts… My letter to Violet."

"That whole thing…?"

"Yup, about a year's worth. To make up for the lack of communication between us, I guess." He opened the notebook and smoothed down a wrinkled page. "And I'm delivering this one personally."

"But… How are you going to do that?"

"Remember how I told you that what I'm doing here is sort of like deciding to work for Fiona and then changing my mind?" Quigley asked, standing up and stuffing his notebook into a backpack that was sitting next to him on the floor.

Sunny nodded.

He pulled on an old, faded jacket that looked like it could have been at least 20 years old. Sewn onto the right sleeve was a patch that read _J.S_. "Well, this is the part where I change my mind."

She raised her eyebrows. "You mean you're…"

Quigley nodded. "We're getting out of here, and while we still can. Fiona's on to me, I know it. I was waiting for a time like this to make my move. We'll just wait until this so-called guest gets here and make a run for it. Get you home again, how's that sound?"

Sunny smiled. That sounded positively wonderful. Then maybe she'd get Klaus to forgive her for everything she'd said and done, and tell him all about what happened, how she made her daring escape with Violet's boyfriend and finally returned home, and then maybe things would go back to normal.

_Oh, Klaus,_ she thought, _I'm going to make you so proud of me._

Her smile faded.

_But what if he won't be?_

Klaus was her older brother, he had to forgive her, right? Or had she really crossed the line this time?

Sunny let herself drift back to that conversation she had overheard outside Fiona's study, the very room Fiona was lounging in now, expecting a very important visitor.

"_I don't think he'll be gone for very long. If he's the same as he was 10 years ago, he's not giving up on Sunny."_

Fiona said it herself. It had to be true. Evil as Fiona was, she knew Klaus almost better then Sunny did.

And that meant that Klaus hadn't abandoned his sister yet.

Sunny looked back up at Quigley. "Yes. I think I'm ready to go home now."

Quigley smiled and was about to zip up his backpack when some kind of metal object flew through the tower window and knocked Fiona's assorted junk off the desk. The two stared at it sitting on the desk in silent astonishment, and watched as it was slowly drawn back by the rope it was tied to. The contraption looked something like a metal spider, with crooked rods with hooked ends for legs.

A makeshift grappling hook.

The grappling hook was pulled towards the window until the ends of the rods hooked onto the window ledge. There were several tugs on the rope, to test if it was secure, and then the rope was pulled taut as someone began his journey up the length of the tower wall.

Sunny and Quigley looked at each other and blinked.

"Um…" Quigley pointed down.

Sunny leaned to the side of the cage, causing it to swing slightly, and looked down. Her jaw dropped as she squinted to get a better look.

_It can't be…_

"Violet!" she screamed.

Quigley let his backpack drop to the floor.

"There you are!" her sister shouted back. Violet pulled herself up to Sunny's level and wrapped the excess rope around her waist so she could lean back and rest while she talked to Sunny. "I was worried sick! What were you thinking, not leaving with Klaus when he came to get you? You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, young lady, and you're in huge trouble when we get home!" Violet chided. She paused and sighed when she saw Sunny's weary expression. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" Violet asked, her voice now laced with motherly concern.

Sunny shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Good, 'cause if she did…" Violet scowled and rolled her eyes meaningfully. Sunny smiled slightly.

Violet took a look at their surroundings and shook her head. "Wow, I'll tell ya, it's like déjà vu all over again. You're trapped up here in a cage, which means I have to invent a grappling hook to get you down… Meanwhile, my shoulder hurts like heck," she said, wincing as she rubbed her shoulder. "It did last time too, I remember that." Violet glanced sideways through the window. "Except this time there's no…"

Her mouth hung open after her voice trailed off; something else had caught her eye. Someone else, really. Quigley stared back and flashed a brief lopsided grin at her.

"Hi."

Violet blinked several times as she tried to think of something to say, but couldn't stop drawing a blank on which words to choose.

There were several long, awkward moments of silence.

Finally Violet spoke, although her comment was more directed at Sunny.

"Well…This part is new."


End file.
